Antimalarial and immunomodulatory potential of chalcone derivatives in experimental model of malaria

• Published in: BMC complementary and alternative medicine Vol. 22; no. 1; p. 330
• Main Authors: Sinha, Shweta, Medhi, Bikash, Radotra, B D, Batovska, Daniela I, Markova, Nadezhda, Bhalla, Ashish, Sehgal, Rakesh
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BioMed Central Ltd 12.12.2022; BioMed Central; BMC
• Subjects: Analysis; Animals; Antimalarials - pharmacology; Antimalarials - therapeutic use; Blood; Body temperature; Chalcone - pharmacology; Chalcone - therapeutic use; Chalcones; Chalcones - pharmacology; Chalcones - therapeutic use; Committees; Cytokine expression; Cytokines; Disease transmission; Drug dosages; Drug resistance; Effectiveness; Flavonoids; Health aspects; Health risks; Human acts; Human behavior; Humans; ICAM-1; Immune response; Immune system; Immunity; Immunomodulation; Immunosuppressive agents; Immunotherapy; In vitro methods and tests; In vivo; Infection; Infections; Insecticide resistance; Insecticides; Intercellular adhesion molecule 1; Interleukin 12; Laboratories; Localization; Malaria; Malaria - drug therapy; Malaria - parasitology; Mice; Mice, Inbred BALB C; Models, Theoretical; Nitric oxide; P. berghei; Parasitemia; Parasitemia - drug therapy; Parasites; Plasmodium; Plasmodium berghei; Transmission electron microscopes; Vector-borne diseases; United States > US; In vivo; Chalcones; ICAM-1; Malaria; P. berghei; Cytokine expression
• ISSN: 2662-7671; 2662-7671; 1472-6882
• DOI: 10.1186/s12906-022-03777-w

Malaria is a complex issue due to the availability of few therapies and chemical families against Plasmodium and mosquitoes. There is increasing resistance to various drugs and insecticides in Plasmodium and in the vector. Additionally, human behaviors are responsible for promoting resistance as well as increasing the risk of exposure to infections. Chalcones and their derivatives have been widely explored for their antimalarial effects. In this context, new derivatives of chalcones have been evaluated for their antimalarial efficacy. BALB/c mice were infected with P. berghei NK-65. The efficacy of the three most potent chalcone derivations (1, 2, and 3) identified after an in vitro compound screening test was tested. The selected doses of 10 mg/kg, 20 mg/kg, and 10 mg/kg were studied by evaluating parasitemia, changes in temperature, body weights, organ weights, histopathological features, nitric oxide, cytokines, and ICAM-1 expression. Also, localization of parasites inside the two vital tissues involved during malaria infections was done through a transmission electron microscope. All three chalcone derivative treated groups showed significant (p < 0.001) reductions in parasitemia levels on the fifth and eighth days of post-infection compared to the infected control. These derivatives were found to modulate the immune response in a P. berghei infected malaria mouse model with a significant reduction in IL-12 levels. The present study indicates the potential inhibitory and immunomodulatory actions of chalcones against the rodent malarial parasite P. berghei.