ABSTRACT
Humans have been dependent on medicinal plants from the ancient times till today as they play a vital role in curing and preventing various types of diseases. Therefore, medicinal plants have played an essential role in drug discoveries from traditional medicine systems to modern medicines. Malaria is the most common type of infectious disease in the sub-Sahara African countries and other developing countries too. Among various kinds of medicinal plants, the present chapter deals with the genus Aristolochia and its species used for treating different diseases. A. bracteolata plant was used as treatment of malaria because of its obtainability, low cost, antiplasmodial activity, and traditional use. The genus Aristolochia has many applications, including its traditional uses, pharmacological uses, and ethnomedical uses. Its traditional uses include curing of malaria, high blood pressure, abdominal pain, headache, fever, body pain, dysentery, cough, urinary tract infections, pneumonia, and bites of animals or insects. Some of its pharmacological uses include anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antioxidant, antiparasitic, anticancer, antidiuretic, antidiarrhoeal, antifertility, and toxicological characteristics. The phytoconstituents analysis justifies the scientific accuracy of herbal medicines and their efficiency in treating diseases. The secondary metabolites from Aristolochia species that have been characterized include aristolochic acids and their derivatives, including benzenoids, flavonoids, terpenoids, and amides.
