{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,26]],"date-time":"2026-09-26T06:44:06Z","timestamp":1790405046975,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":36,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"2","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,1,17]],"date-time":"2025-01-17T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1737072000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Ministry of Health and Welfare","award":["HI22C0820"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["HI22C0820"]}]},{"name":"Ministry of Health and Welfare","award":["2022RIS-005"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2022RIS-005"]}]},{"name":"Ministry of Health and Welfare","award":["RS-2023-00240627"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["RS-2023-00240627"]}]},{"name":"Ministry of Education (MOE)","award":["HI22C0820"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["HI22C0820"]}]},{"name":"Ministry of Education (MOE)","award":["2022RIS-005"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2022RIS-005"]}]},{"name":"Ministry of Education (MOE)","award":["RS-2023-00240627"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["RS-2023-00240627"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Molecules"],"abstract":"<jats:p>This study investigates the antimalarial potential of extracts and compounds from various plants used in traditional Korean medicine, in response to the increasing resistance of Plasmodium falciparum to standard treatments such as chloroquine and artemisinin. The antimalarial activity screening was conducted on 151 extracts, identifying the top seven candidates, including Geranium thunbergii (50% ethanol and 100% methanol extract), Reynoutria japonica, Amomum villosum (hot water and 50% ethanol extract), Cinnamomum zeylanicum, and Platycodon grandiflorum. Among these, G. thunbergii was identified as the top priority for further analysis due to its high antimalarial activity and high yield of bioactive compounds. The plant extracts were fractionated using ethyl acetate, chloroform, and hot water, and their efficacy against P. falciparum was evaluated through IC50 determination and microscopic analysis. The compounds evaluated included ellagic acid, gallic acid, afzelin, quercetin, and protocatechuic acid. Among the tested compounds, ellagic acid showed the most potent antimalarial activity with an IC50 of 1.60 \u00b1 0.09 \u00b5M, followed by gallic acid (39.43 \u00b1 1.48 \u00b5M) and afzelin (52.77 \u00b1 1.84 \u00b5M). In contrast, quercetin (116.8 \u00b1 3.78 \u00b5M) and protocatechuic acid (1.23 \u00b1 0.02 mM) exhibited minimal antimalarial effects. Giemsa staining was employed to visualize parasite morphology and confirmed that ellagic acid is effective in inhibiting growth at the late trophozoite stage. These findings suggest that ellagic acid could serve as a promising lead compound for developing a novel antimalarial agent. This study highlights the importance of exploring plant-based compounds as alternative strategies against drug-resistant malaria. Further investigation into the mechanisms underlying the antimalarial activity of these compounds is necessary to fully validate their therapeutic potential.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/molecules30020359","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,1,17]],"date-time":"2025-01-17T03:33:02Z","timestamp":1737084782000},"page":"359","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":9,"title":["Ellagic Acid from Geranium thunbergii and Antimalarial Activity of Korean Medicinal Plants"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"30","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0009-8364-3047","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Hojong","family":"Jun","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medical Environmental Biology and Tropical Medicine, School of Medicine, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon 24341, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Joon-Hee","family":"Han","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Biological Resources, Chuncheon Bioindustry Foundation, Chuncheon 24232, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0517-7433","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Min","family":"Hong","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Biological Resources, Chuncheon Bioindustry Foundation, Chuncheon 24232, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Fadhila","family":"Fitriana","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medical Environmental Biology and Tropical Medicine, School of Medicine, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon 24341, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0005-8078-5948","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jadidan Hada","family":"Syahada","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medical Environmental Biology and Tropical Medicine, School of Medicine, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon 24341, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2152-8915","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Wang-Jong","family":"Lee","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medical Environmental Biology and Tropical Medicine, School of Medicine, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon 24341, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ernest","family":"Mazigo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medical Environmental Biology and Tropical Medicine, School of Medicine, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon 24341, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Johnsy Mary","family":"Louis","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medical Environmental Biology and Tropical Medicine, School of Medicine, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon 24341, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0009-5615-5670","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Van-Truong","family":"Nguyen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medical Environmental Biology and Tropical Medicine, School of Medicine, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon 24341, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Seok Ho","family":"Cha","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Parasitology and Tropical Medicine, Inha University School of Medicine, Incheon 22212, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1984-3545","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Wanjoo","family":"Chun","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon 24341, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Won Sun","family":"Park","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon 24341, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Se Jin","family":"Lee","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Kangwon National University Hospital, Chuncheon 24341, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Sunghun","family":"Na","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Kangwon National University Hospital, Chuncheon 24341, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Soo-Ung","family":"Lee","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Biological Resources, Chuncheon Bioindustry Foundation, Chuncheon 24232, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Eun-Taek","family":"Han","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medical Environmental Biology and Tropical Medicine, School of Medicine, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon 24341, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2250-9444","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Tae-Hyung","family":"Kwon","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Biological Resources, Chuncheon Bioindustry Foundation, Chuncheon 24232, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0836-6675","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jin-Hee","family":"Han","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medical Environmental Biology and Tropical Medicine, School of Medicine, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon 24341, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,1,17]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e214","DOI":"10.1016\/S2666-5247(24)00016-8","article-title":"The 2023 WHO World malaria report","volume":"5","author":"Venkatesan","year":"2024","journal-title":"Lancet Microbe"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Artzy-Randrup, Y., Alonso, D., and Pascual, M. 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