Journal of Ethnopharmacology 132 (2010) 362364

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Journal of Ethnopharmacology
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jethpharm

Ethnopharmacological communication

Ethnobotanical study on some Malaysian anti-malarial plants: A community

based survey
Abdulelah H. Al-Adhroey , Zurainee M. Nor, Hesham M. Al-Mekhla, Rohela Mahmud
Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

a r t i c l e

i n f o

Article history:
Received 3 May 2010
Received in revised form 4 August 2010
Accepted 6 August 2010
Available online 17 August 2010
Keywords:
Ethnobotanical survey
Malaria
Malaysia

a b s t r a c t
Ethnopharmacological relevance: Various plants species are used in the traditional medicine for the treatment of malaria. This is the rst community based ethnobotanical study in Peninsular Malaysia.
Aim of the study: To investigate the plants traditionally used in the treatment of malaria in Malaysia.
Materials and methods: An ethnobotanical survey was carried out among 233 Aboriginal and rural households, and traditional healers in malaria endemic areas in Peninsular Malaysia. Data were collected using
a pre-tested questionnaire.
Results: Nineteen species belonging to 17 families were identied. Twelve plant species have not previously been documented for the treatment of malaria in Malaysia.
Conclusions: Findings of this study can be used as an ethnopharmacological basis for selecting plants for
further anti-malarial phytochemical and pharmaceutical studies.
2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction

2. Materials and methods

Evidence of artemisinin-resistant malaria has been reported on

the Thai-Cambodian border and there is a global call to look for
new anti-malarial agents from medicinal plants, which represent
the main ingredients of modern anti-malarial agents (Htut, 2009).
The new drugs must exhibit efcacy and safety, be inexpensive
and have additional properties important for the specic disease
indication (Rosenthal, 2003). Consistent with this specication,
traditional medicinal plants have several potential advantages;
they are affordable, easily accessible and there is no evidence of
resistance to whole-plant extracts. Moreover, traditional medicinal plants have been used to treat malaria for thousands of years
and they are the ingredients of the two main groups of modern
anti-malarial drugs; artemisinin and quinine derivatives (Willcox
and Bodeker, 2004; Batista et al., 2009).
Although many communities have achieved successful ethnobotanical approaches in this eld, very little is known about which
plant remedies are still used in the traditional treatment of malaria
in Peninsular Malaysia. Hence, the present study was carried out
to establish a preliminary ethnobotanical database for the plants
traditionally used to treat malaria among Aboriginal and rural
communities, and traditional healers in malaria endemic areas in
Pahang, Malaysia.

2.1. Study area

Corresponding author. Tel.: +6 03 7967 3789; fax: +6 03 7967 4754.

E-mail address: halmekhla@yahoo.com (A.H. Al-Adhroey).
0378-8741/$ see front matter 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.jep.2010.08.006

Two different malaria endemic communities in the district of

Lipis in Pahang state were involved in this survey; the hill/forest
Pos Betau area inhabited by the Aboriginal peoples, and the Padang
Tengku and Benta areas inhabited by the rural population. The climate is equatorial with an average temperature of 2332 C and an
annual rainfall of between 1525 and 3050 mm. The key components
of malaria control are indoor spraying of insecticide, and early diagnosis and treatment supplements performed by the Vector-Borne
Diseases Control Unit in Kuala Lipis, the capital city of Lipis district.
2.2. Data collection
A cross-sectional ethnobotanical survey was carried out from
October 2008 to May 2009. Three different groups of respondents were interviewed at the study area; Aboriginal households
(house-to-house interviews, n = 100), rural household (interviews
at outpatient clinics, n = 123), and traditional healers (n = 10). Information on plant preparation, application and the parts used to treat
malaria was obtained from the head of each household using a
pre-tested, semi-structured questionnaire.
Vouchers of the plants were collected and identied by a
plant taxonomist and deposited at the Herbarium of the University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The oras used for
identication were Malayan wild owers and Garden Plants in
Singapore (Henderson, 1954; Boo et al., 2006). Prior to study

A.H. Al-Adhroey et al. / Journal of Ethnopharmacology 132 (2010) 362364

363

Table 1
Plant species identication and preference ranking.
Species (voucher numbers)

Family

Azadirachta indica Juss. KLU 33205

Brucea javanica Merr. KLU 34632
Cassia siamea L. KLU 46621
Cocos nucifera L. KLU 47212
Eurycoma longifolia Jack KLU 03593
Labisia pumila (Bl.) F.-Vill. KLU 09386
Languas galanga Stuntz. KLU 46619
Lansium domesticum Corr. KLU 44528
Morinda citrifolia L. KLU 45405
Nigella sativa L. KLU 47213
Ocimum tenuiorum L. KLU 46618
Phyllanthus niruri L. KLU 46617
Piper betle L. KLU 46620
Hibiscus rosa-sinensis L. KLU 46616
Tinospora crispa L. KLU 45568
Aeschynanthus sp. Jack KLU 20482
Alstonia angustiloba Mig. KLU 03364
Curcuma domestica L. KLU 41829
Elateriospermum tapos Bl. KLU 42028

Meliaceae
Simaroubaceae
Fabaceae
Arecaceae
Simaroubaceae
Myrsinaceae
Zingiberaceae
Meliaceae
Rubiaceae
Ranunculaceae
Lamiaceae
Phyllanthaceae
Piperaceae
Malvaceae
Menispermaceae
Gesneriaceae
Apocynaceae
Zingiberaceae
Euphorbiaceae

No. of times cited

AH

RH

TH

4
6
1

1
1
1

1
1
2
1

1
1
1

1
1

1
1

4
2

PRK

PR

3.5
1.8
1.8
1.8
15.8
14.0
3.5
1.8
1.8
1.8
1.8
1.8
3.5
1.8
7.0
1.8
1.8
3.5
1.8

3
3
1
1
3
2
2
1
1
2
1
1
2
1
3
1
1
1
1

AH: Aboriginal households, RH: rural households, TH: traditional healers.

PRK: percentage of respondents who have knowledge about the plant, PR: preference ranking.

commencement, ethical approval was obtained from the Ethical Committee of the University of Malaya Medical Centre and
the Department of Aboriginal Affairs, Ministry of Rural Development.
2.3. Data analysis
The information obtained in the course of the ethnobotanical
interviews was analysed using the following parameters:
1. Taxonomic diversity, preparation, application and parts of the
plant used.
2. The percentage of respondent who have knowledge regarding
the use of a species in the treatment of malaria was estimated
using the formula (PRK): (number of people interviewed citing
species/total number of interviewed people using plants) 100.
3. Preference ranking (PR), in this case the plants were ranked consistent with their level of efciency in the treatment of malaria

by the local people. Each rank is given a numeral (1, 2 or 3), with
the most effective plants allocated a value of 3.
3. Results
Most of the respondents in the hill/forest and rural areas have
knowledge of malaria as a disease (forest 76%, rural 86.2%). Of
the 223 interviewed respondents, 28% and 15.4% of the Aboriginal
and rural respondents had tried self-medication with anti-malarial
plant remedies to cure or prevent malaria infections, respectively.
However, the use of anti-malarial plants was signicantly higher
among the Aboriginal community (X2 = 5.225, P = 0.022). Overall,
10% of the Aboriginal households had suffered from malaria during the last year compared to 1.6% of the rural households. Almost
two-thirds of both Aboriginal and rural respondents were females,
and the majority of the rural respondents were Malay (60.1%) followed by Chinese (29.3%) and Indians (10.6%). Almost all the rural
participants had formal education of at least 6 years. In contrast,

Table 2
Local names, growth forms, purpose, part used, preparation and application of species of plants that are used to treat malaria.
Species/Application

Local name

Growth form

Purpose

Part used

Preparation

Plants used orally

Azadirachta indica
Brucea javanica
Cassia siamea
Cocos nucifera
Eurycoma longifolia
Labisia pumila
Languas galanga
Lansium domesticum
Morinda citrifolia
Nigella sativa
Ocimum tenuiorum
Phyllanthus niruri
Piper betle
H. rosa -sinensis
Tinospora crispa

Margosa
Lada pahit
Johor
Kelapa
Tongkat Ali
Kacip Fatimah
Lengkuas
Langsat
Peremuh/Mengkudu
Jintan hitam/Habatulsawda
Tulsi
Dukung anak
Sirih/Serih
Bunga Raya
Putarwali/Batang Wali

Tree
Tree
Tree
Tree
Shrub
Herb
Herb
Tree
Tree
Herb
Herb
Herb
Liana
Shrub
Shrub

C
C
C
C, P
C, P
C, P
C
C
C
C, P
C
C
C, P
C
C, P

Leaves
Fruits, leaves
Stem bark
Flesh
Root
Leaves
Rhizome
Peel and bark
Leaves and fruits
Seeds
Leaves and seed
Whole plants
Leaves
Flowers
Stems, leaves or roots

Decoction
Infusion
Decoction
Infusion
Decoction
Decoction
Decoction
Infusion
Decoction
Infusion
Decoction
Decoction
Chewing
Infusion
Decoction

Plants used externally

Aeschynanthus sp.
Alstonia angustiloba
Curcuma domestica
Elateriospermum tapos

Sambuk
Pulai getah
Kunyit
Perah/parah

Shrub
Tree
Herb
Tree

C
C
C
C

Leaves
Gum
Root
Leaves

Decoction
Decoction
Decoction
Decoction

C: curative, P: prophylactic.

364

A.H. Al-Adhroey et al. / Journal of Ethnopharmacology 132 (2010) 362364

half (54.8%) and 10.5% of the aboriginal women and men had no
formal education, respectively.
Traditional healers are rarely found in the rural areas. However,
some of the religious leaders such as imams of mosques and temples priests are practicing and prescribing the traditional plants to
the people. For instance, Azadirachta indica Juss. (locally known as
Margosa) has been mentioned by an Indian priests who stated that
this plant has its folkloric background in the treatment of fever
and malaria in the ayurvedic medicine. On the other hand, Nigella
sativa L. (locally known as Jintan hitam), which has its religious
background in the prophetic medicine, has been mentioned by a
Malay imam of mosque.
As shown in Table 1, a total of 19 species in 17 families
were identied as being used to treat malaria. The majority of
the plant species (89.5%) were identied through the interviews
with the Aboriginal and rural peoples. In spite of only 31.6% of
the plant species being identied through the interviews with
the traditional healers, most of them got the highest preference
ranking. Some plants were mentioned by more than one respondent group and Eurycoma longifolia Jack was the only species that
was mentioned by the all groups. However, most of the identied plant species were mentioned by only one respondent. The
plant species with higher PRK values were Eurycoma longifolia
Jack, Labisia pumila (Bl.) F.-Vill. and Tinospora crispa L., respectively.
Most of the identied plant remedies are used for curative purposes to cure malaria, and six plant species are used as curative
and prophylactic remedies. Regarding the route of administration, the most frequent method was oral application of decoctions
or infusions, three times daily until malaria or fever is cured
(Table 2). In some instances, they are applied as baths or compresses to the swollen spleen accompanied by chanting some
words and following rituals. Different parts of the plants were used
in the preparation of anti-malarial plant remedies. In most of the
species (63%), the remedies were obtained from the leaves and
roots.
4. Discussion
The present study has investigated the plants traditionally used
in the treatment of malaria in Malaysia. The ndings showed that
seven plant species namely, Alstonia angustiloba Mig., Brucea javanica Merr., Cassia siamea L., Phyllanthus niruri L., Eurycoma longofolia
Jack, Languas galanga Stuntz. and Tinospora crispa L. are used in
East Malaysia to treat malaria (Mat-Salleh, 1997; Fasihuddin, 2000;
Fasihuddin and Holdsworth, 2003). However, the anti-malarial use
of the other 12 plant species was identied and documented for the
rst time.

The majority of the remedies and preparations reported in this

study included boiling the plant material and then drinking the
extract decoction. However, none of the people interviewed gave
any information about how they might regulate treatments and the
quantities used were generally indistinguishable. Thus, the quality
could differ signicantly from one prescription to another. This lack
of standardization seems to be one of the main disadvantages of
traditional medicine (Asase et al., 2005). Some species were also
used in combination, which may cause an additional obstacle to
standardizing as well as investigating and observing the levels of
biologically active ingredients.
In conclusion, data reported in this survey may assist in identifying which plant species should be taken into consideration when
developing sustainable harvesting for species among the communities. The ndings also provided an ethnopharmacological database
for further anti-malarial phytochemical and pharmaceutical studies.
Acknowledgements
The nancial support of the University of Malaya (Grant code
PS275/2008A) is gratefully acknowledged. The authors thank Mr.
Yong Kien-Thai from the Herbarium of the University of Malaya
for his advices and help in the identication of the plant, Mr. Low
Yee Wen from the Herbarium of the University of Malaya for his
generous help in the collection of the plants, and the staff of the
Vector-Borne Control Unit of the district of Lipis for providing us
the information necessary for the selection of the study areas.
References
Asase, A., Oteng-Yeboah, A.A., Odamtten, G.T., Simmond, M.S.J., 2005. Ethnobotanical
study of some Ghanaian anti-malarial plants. Journal of Ethnopharmacology 99,
273279.
Batista, R., de Jesus, A., Jnior, S., de Oliveira, A.B., 2009. Plant-derived antimalarial
agents: new leads and efcient phytomedicines. Part II. Non-alkaloidal natural
products. Molecules 14, 30373072.
Boo, C.M., Kartini, O.H., Ou-Yang, C.L., 2006. 1001 Garden Plants in Singapore, second
ed. National Parks Board, Singapore.
Fasihuddin, B.A., 2000. Medicinal plants used by various ethnic groups in Sabah,
Malaysian Borneo. Sabah Parks Nature Journals 3, 99108.
Fasihuddin, B.A., Holdsworth, D.K., 2003. Medicinal plants of Sabah, East Malaysia
part I. Pharmaceutical Biology 41, 340346.
Henderson, M.R., 1954. Malayan Wild Flowers. The Malayan Nature Society, Kuala
Lumpur.
Htut, Z.W., 2009. Artemisinin resistance in Plasmodium falciparum malaria. New
England Journal of Medicine 361, 18071808.
Mat-Salleh, K., 1997. Ethnobotany, Ethnopharmacognosy and Documentation of
Malaysian Medicinal and Aromatic Plants. UKM, Malaysia.
Rosenthal, P.J., 2003. Antimalarial drug discovery: old and new approaches. The
Journal of Experimental Biology 206, 37353744.
Willcox, M.L., Bodeker, G., 2004. Traditional herbal medicines for malaria. British
Medical Journal 329, 11561159.