Indian Journal of Experimental Biology Vol 46, February 2008, pp. 128-131 Anti-microfilarial activity of methanolic extract of Vitex negundo and Aegle marmelos and their phytochemical analysis K N Sahare 1 , V Anandhraman 2 , V G Meshram 3 , S U Meshram 1 , M V R Reddy 2 , P M Tumane 1 and & K Goswami 2* 1 P G Department of Microbiology & Rajiv Gandhi Biotechnology Centre, RTM, Nagpur University, Nagpur 440 033, India 2 Jamnalal Bajaj Tropical Disease Research Centre & Department of Biochemistry, Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences, Sevagram 442 102, India 3 Department of Biochemistry, Sindhu Mahavidyalaya, Nagpur 440 017, India Received 13 April 2007; revised 6 November 2007 In the present study, methanolic extracts of roots of Vitex negundo L. and extracts of leaves of Vitex negundo L., Ricinus communis L. and Aegle marmelos Corr. were explored for possible antifilarial effect against Brugia malayi microfilariae. It was observed that among the herbal extracts, root extract of Vitex negundo L. and leaves extract of Aegle marmelos Corr. at 100 ng/ml concentration showed complete loss of motility of microfilariae after 48 hr of incubation. Thin layer chromatography of the extracts revealed the presence of alkaloids, saponin and flavonoids in the roots of Vitex negundo L. and coumarin in the leaves of Aegle marmelos Corr. Keywords: Aegle marmelos, Antifilarial activity, Microfilariae, Phytochemicals, Ricinus communis, Vitex negundo Traditional therapeutics based on herbal medicinal principles is time tested and widely accepted across various cultural and socio-economic strata. The systematic screening of plant species for discovering new bioactive compounds are performed in many laboratories 1 . However, there is lack of precise guidelines to study the herbal compounds and till date a very meagre portion of this tremendous potential drug-repertoire has been scientifically screened 2 . Hence, there is a real need for scientific evidence based validation of these agents. The tropical disease, human lymphatic filariasis, is still prevalent in central India. This disease, has been recognized by World Health Organization (WHO) as one of the ten diseases in its Tropical Disease Research (TDR) scheme highlighting the huge disease burden leading to 5.5 million DALYs. Consequently global programme was launched for elimination of filariasis (GPELF) (www.who.int/tdr/diseases). Currently most popularly used medicine, diethylcarbamazine (DEC), has been reported for lack of compliance due to prolonged use by mass drug administration strategy 3 . Hence there is dire demand for alternate options, which naturally relies on herbal remedies in terms of safety, efficacy and cultural acceptability. Vitex negundo L. (Family: Verbenaceae) commonly known as Nirgundi, roots and Ricinus communis L. (Family: Euphorbiaceae) commonly known as castor oil plant or errand, leaves are used for elephantiasis 4, 5 . Aegle marmelos Corr. (Family: Rutaceae), known as bael, also used for treatment of filariasis 6 . The present study was undertaken to demonstrate the antifilarial effect of methanolic extract of these plants using Brugia malayi microfilariae in vitro. Preliminary phytochemical analysis and thin layer chromatography of two strongly active plant extracts namely roots of Vitex negundo L. and leaves of Aegle marmelos Corr. (Leaves) were also carried out to detect the major phytochemical groups present in these plants. Materials and Methods Plant material – Vitex negundo L. roots and leaves, Ricinus communis L. leaves and Aegle marmelos Corr. leaves, collected from the local areas of Sausar, Chhindwara (India), were identified by Dr. Alka Chaturvedi, P.G. Dept. of Botany, RTM, Nagpur University, Nagpur, India. (Vouchar specimen number 9022, 9025, and 9023, respectively). Parasites ⎯ B. malayi life cycle was established and maintained in jirds (Meriones unguiculatus), ____________ *Correspondent author Phone: +91-7152-284741, Extn.262; Fax: +917152-284038 E-mail: goswamikln@rediffmail.com; goswamikln@gmail.com