cryptolepis sanguinolenta

Cryptolepis sanguinolenta is a West African medicinal plant used as a botanical drug and dietary supplement, most notably in traditional medicine for malaria and febrile illnesses. Its pharmacology is generally attributed to indoloquinoline alkaloids, especially cryptolepine, which has shown antiplasmodial, antimicrobial, and cytotoxic activities in preclinical studies; proposed mechanisms include DNA intercalation and inhibition of topoisomerase II, but the whole-plant extract does not have a single fully defined molecular target or standardized pharmaceutical mechanism. The product is typically marketed as crude root, tincture, tea, powder, or extract rather than as an approved single-entity pharmaceutical, and clinical evidence is limited, with historical small studies in malaria and a larger body of in vitro and animal research. For biotech analysts, this is best understood as a non-pharmaceutical herbal preparation with variable composition, where cryptolepine is the principal characterized bioactive constituent and antimalarial use is the most established traditional indication.

Other names

cryptolepisnibimaghana quinine