Speaker
Description
Issues of quality control remains a major concern in the herbal industry. Herbal products lack standardization due to complex and variable phytochemical constituents. Among the various ways in solving this, is the use of chemical markers to control quality and effectiveness. This study aimed at developing phytochemical standards for antimalaria herbal products documented in the Recommended Essential Herbal Medicines List of Ghana using the herbal marker ranking system (Herb MaRS). Antimalaria products were reviewed, and frequently used raw materials selected. Evidence of safety and efficacy were documented. The selection of bioactive compounds from the plants as potential markers was based on the Herb MaRS criteria; compounds with antimalarial activity scored 2 or 0 (not active); evidence of managing a symptom (1 or 0); concentration of the compound in the plant, <5µg/g, scored 1 point (too low), 2 points (5–50µg/g), or 3 points (>50 µg/g). Availability of reference standards (score 1), and (1point) for availability of analytical methods. A toxic compound scored all 8 points. Compounds that scored 8 were considered as most suitable markers with those scoring 4 as appreciably suitable. All those scoring less than 3 were not considered. The selected markers include cryptolepine (in Cryptolepis sanguinolenta), echitamine, β-amyrin, boonein, loganin, and lupeol (in Alstonia boonei), azadirachtin, nimbolide,nimbin, and salanin (in Azadirachta indica), lucidin, alizarin, damnacanthal, Rubiadin and purpuroxanthin (in Morinda lucida), quercetin, caffeic acid, and quinovic acid (in Nauclea latifolia). The selected markers; the therapeutic and or those with toxicological concerns, cryptolepine and β-amyrin for instance are suitable for the standardization of antimalaria herbal products containing these plant materials. Herb MaRS criteria could be used to select chemical markers for herbal material quality control.