Abstract

Background: An unceasing threat of resistance of malarial parasites to available antimalarial drugs makes the development of new drugs imperative. Natural plant-based products is an alternative source for discovering new anti-malarial drugs. Aim: To determine the prophylactic efficacy of a traditionally used plant-based drug on prevention of malaria in endemic villages of Odisha, India. Methods: A total of 267 healthy human volunteers of both sexes, aged 18 to 60 years were enrolled in Odisha, India, to receive either minimum 20 doses of aqueous extract of TPMP74 (Traditional Plant-based Malaria Prophylactic drug) twice a week (Experimental group), or no drug (Control group) for 14 weeks. The primary criterion was the occurrence of malaria positive cases confirmed through expert microscopy during the study period. Analyses were by per-protocol and modified intention-to-treat. Results: A significant (p

Key words: Malaria, herbal prophylaxis, traditional medicine, malaria-endemic population, India