Malaria remains a major public health problem in India. 220 million human get infected and over 700,000 deaths reports annually [1]. India contributes over one fifth (22.6%) of clinical episodes of Plasmodium falciparum and 42% of episodes of Plasmodium vivax globally [2,3] and around 200,000 persons die annually of malaria [4]. The situation of malaria is aggravated by an increased prevalence of drug-resistant P. falciparum, which poses a threat not only to those living in endemic areas, but also to the millions of non-immune travellers who visit endemic areas [6]. There is a need for safe and effective new drugs for both treatment and prevention of malaria [7].

As in almost all tropical endemic countries, malaria in India affects particularly people living in rural, remote areas, where most often affordable modern drugs are not available and where poor health care infrastructure cannot assure prompt and appropriate treatment. Thus, a majority of the population still relies on the use of traditional herbal medicines for the management of malaria. A recent ethnobotanical survey in Odisha, India, revealed the rich repertoire of traditional herbal remedies used for malaria prevention [8]. One polyherbal remedy (five plants parts) was selected for pilot field investigation, as it is widely used by many traditional healers to provide protection (preventive) specifically against malaria during the transmission season. The five plants used in this polyherbal remedy are commonly available in the local areas and are affordable to the population of malaria-endemic areas. As an exploratory, this pilot study was undertaken to evaluate the malaria preventive efficacy of polyherbal remedy in healthy volunteers. As these plants are mentioned in Ayurvedic classical texts for similar health condition (fever) and this remedy is already in use by many tribal communities of Odisha, we hypothesised that this remedy has an effect in reducing malaria incidences.

This study was initiated on May, 2009 and completed by December, 2009. This is a retrospective registration of the field, pilot study conducted to evaluate malaria preventive potential of polyherbal remedy in human healthy volunteers. This study was approved by the institutional ethics committee as per the norms and written informed consent was obtained from all the volunteers.

References:

1.   WHO (2010): World malaria report 2010.

2.   Hay SI, Okiro EA, Gething PW, Patil AP, Tatem AJ, et al. (2010) Estimating the global clinical burden of Plasmodium falciparum malaria in 2007. PLoS Med 7:    e1000290.

3.  Guerra CA, Howes RE, Patil AP, Gething PW, Van Boeckel TP, et al. (2010) The international limits and population at risk of Plasmodium vivax transmission in 2009. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 4: e774.

4.  Dhingra N, Jha P, Sharma VP, Cohen AA, Jotkar RM, et al. (2010) Adult and child malaria mortality in India: a nationally representative mortality survey. Lancet 376: 1768-1774.

5.  WHO (2009). World malaria report 2009.

6.  Lobel HO, Campbell CC, Pappaioanou M, Huong AY (1987) Use of prophylaxis for malaria by American travelers to Africa and Haiti. JAMA 257: 2626-2627.

7.  Olliaro P, Cattani J, Wirth D (1996) Malaria, the submerged disease. JAMA 275: 230-233.

8.  Nagendrappa PB, Naik MP, Payyappallimana U (2013) Ethnobotanical survey of malaria prophylactic remedies in Odisha, India. J Ethnopharmacol 146: 768-772.