ANTIMALARIAL POTENTIAL OF MEDICINAL PLANTS: AN INTEGRATIVE REVIEW

Abstract

Introduction: The therapeutic potential of medicinal plants has aroused great interest in recent decades in applications in the health area. Among the diseases treated by means of medicinal plants, malaria transmitted through the bite of female mosquitoes of the genus Anopheles stands out. Objective: To review the antimalarial potential of medicinal plants. Methodology: This article is an integrative review. Articles were collected over a period of time from 2010 to 2022 obtained from the platforms: PubMED, Science Direct and Sci Finder. Health Descriptors were used: Medicinal Plants, Malaria, Plasmodium, in vivo assay. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were used. Results: 89 articles on the antimalarial potential of medicinal plants were cataloged and after analyzing the inclusion and exclusion criteria, only 13 articles were used. Discussion: The antimalarial potential of medicinal plants can be evaluated through the chemical compounds produced by them. Flavonoids, Quinones, Artemisinin, Alkaloids were the classes found in the analyzed articles. Conclusion: Medicinal plants are indicated as treatment methods for malaria, the mechanisms of action of chemical compounds present in medicinal plants should be studied more carefully in order to avoid side effects.