The Tree that Kills Malaria — and the Mosquitoes

At least 30 % of the active ingredients in modern medicines are derived from ingredients found in plants. Why do plants produce compounds that are effective against human diseases?

“We don’t know the answer to that question, but we can’t imagine that the Olon tree has any interest in killing mosquitoes or malaria parasites. But maybe the substances have an effect also on insects that for instance might feed on the trees”, Malterud suggests.

“The primary function of many natural products found in plants is not known to science, but it's obvious that the plants use a lot of energy to produce these compounds. Therefore, it is hardly a coincidence that they are produced”, adds Wangensteen.

The research on substances from the bark of two African trees was supported by the programme Functional Genomics (FUGE) in the Research Council of Norway, which had a commitment to bioprospecting. Nastaran Moussavi’s expenses for the work in Montpellier were funded by a grant from the Norwegian Pharmaceutical Society.

Scientific papers:

Hans J. Overgaard et al.: Insecticidal Activities of Bark, Leaf and Seed Extracts of Zanthoxylum heitzii against the African Malaria Vector Anopheles gambiae. Molecules 2014

Nastaran Moussavi et al.: Identification of chemical constituents of Zanthoxylum heitzii stem bark and their insecticidal activity against the malaria mosquito Anopheles gambiae. Parasites & Vectors, 2015.

Helle Wangensteen et al.: A new benzophenanthridine alkaloid and other bioactive constituents from the stem bark of Zanthoxylum heitzii. Fitoterapia, Volume 109, March 2016.

Christopher Dean Goodman et al.: Natural products from Zanthoxylum heitzii with potent activity against the malaria parasite. Malaria Journal, 2016.

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