Antitrichomonas in vitro activity of Cussonia holstii Engl.

Cussonia holstii is a traditional medicinal plant used in Kenya, which has not been studied chemically up-to-date. Upon biological screening, a substantial antitrichomonas activity was found in the dichloromethane extract of the bark of Cussonia holstii. A detailed chromatographic study using centrifugal partition chromatography revealed that a pentacyclic triterpenoid, i.e., hederagenin, is the antitrichomonas constituent of the plant with a IC50 of 2.8 microM.