Researcher ORCID Identifier
0009-0000-0485-3359
Graduation Year
2025
Document Type
Open Access Senior Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts
Department
Chemistry
Reader 1
Professor Daniel J. O'Leary
Reader 2
Professor Matthew H. Sazinsky
Rights Information
© 2025 Leandre Nsabimana Ndisanze
Abstract
Malaria remains one of the most devastating parasitic diseases globally, disproportionately affecting sub-Saharan Africa, where Rwanda continues to face high transmission rates and rising resistance to conventional interventions. Despite decades of control efforts, the emergence of drug-resistant Plasmodium falciparum and insecticide-resistant Anopheles mosquitoes threatens to reverse recent gains. This research responds to the urgent need for sustainable and culturally relevant alternatives by exploring the therapeutic potential of Rwandan traditional medicinal plants. These indigenous remedies, long used by local healers, offer an underexplored reservoir of bioactive compounds that may provide the basis for novel antimalarial drugs.
The central hypothesis of this thesis is that Rwandan ethnobotanical knowledge, when combined with modern pharmacological and analytical methods, can yield effective, low-cost antimalarial agents. To test this, the study will begin with in vitro screening of traditionally used plant extracts using the SYBR Green I fluorescence assay to evaluate their inhibitory effects on P. falciparum. Extracts meeting potency thresholds (IC with ₅₀ < 50 µg/mL) will advance to secondary validation, and extraction techniques will ensure the efficient and selective isolation of active phytochemicals.
Subsequent steps will include chromatographic purification and structural characterization of lead compounds via spectroscopic (NMR, MS) and computational (docking, AlphaFold) methods. These approaches will elucidate the interaction of active molecules with known parasite targets, such as heme detoxification pathways. The research further incorporates ecological and economic assessments to determine the sustainability of plant-based drug development and promote community-based cultivation strategies.
Recommended Citation
Nsabimana Ndisanze, Leandre, "Rwanda's Natural Remedies: A Fresh Look at the Fight Against Malaria" (2025). Pomona Senior Theses. 361.
https://scholarship.claremont.edu/pomona_theses/361
Included in
Alternative and Complementary Medicine Commons, Analytical Chemistry Commons, Biochemical Phenomena, Metabolism, and Nutrition Commons, Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Structural Biology Commons, Botany Commons, Chemicals and Drugs Commons, Community-Based Research Commons, Environmental Public Health Commons, Environmental Sciences Commons, Epidemiology Commons, International Public Health Commons, Medicinal and Pharmaceutical Chemistry Commons, Medicinal-Pharmaceutical Chemistry Commons, Medicine and Health Commons, Parasitic Diseases Commons, Parasitology Commons, Patient Safety Commons, Pharmaceutics and Drug Design Commons, Pharmacology, Toxicology and Environmental Health Commons, Plant Biology Commons, Public Health Education and Promotion Commons, Quality Improvement Commons, Social Justice Commons, Women's Health Commons
