Background: Malaria remains a significant public health challenge in regions of the world where it is endemic. An unprecedented decline in malaria incidences was recorded during the last decade due to the availability of effective control interventions, such as the deployment of artemisinin-based combination therapy and insecticide-treated nets. However, according to the World Health Organization, malaria is staging a comeback, in part due to the development of drug resistance. Therefore, there is an urgent need to discover new anti-malarial drugs. This article reviews the literature on natural products with antiplasmodial activity that was reported between 2010 and 2017. Methods: Relevant literature was sourced by searching the major scientific databases, including Web of Science, ScienceDirect, Scopus, SciFinder, Pubmed, and Google Scholar, using appropriate keyword combinations. Results and Discussion: A total of 1524 compounds from 397 relevant references, assayed against at least one strain of Plasmodium, were reported in the period under review. Out of these, 39% were described as new natural products, and 29% of the compounds had IC₅₀ ≤ 3.0 µM against at least one strain of Plasmodium. Several of these compounds have the potential to be developed into viable anti-malarial drugs. Also, some of these compounds could play a role in malaria eradication by targeting gametocytes. However, the research into natural products with potential for blocking the transmission of malaria is still in its infancy stage and needs to be vigorously pursued.

Covering: 1990 to the end of 2000 This review covers the structures of compounds with antiplasmodial activity isolated from plants and is organized according to plant family. A total of 170 structures has been reviewed from 186 references found in the literature up to December 2000.

Ethnobotanical field studies in the Graaff-Reinet and Murraysburg regions (southeastern Karoo) have revealed a wealth of traditional knowledge on medicinal plants and their uses amongst elderly people of Khoi-San and Cape Dutch decent. The materia medica includes at least 86 species, most of which appear to be still in everyday use. The use of exotic plants (12 species) and similarities with the Xhosa healing culture show that the traditional system is dynamic and adaptive. Medicines to treat problems of the stomach, back, kidneys, bladder, as well as colds and other minor ailments have a high frequency. Mixtures of different plants are often used. An overview of the most important plants and their uses is presented, which shows several interesting records that have hitherto remained undocumented. These include new uses, new vernacular names and new medicinal plants (Abutilon sonneriatum, Aloe striata, Eberlanzia spinosa, Helichrysum pumilio, Osteospermum herbaceum, Pachypodium succulentum, Peliostomum cf. origanoides, Pentzia punctata, Rhigozum obovatum and Stapelia olivaea). New records of plants that are locally commonly used (e.g. H. pumilio and O. herbaceum) confirm that the medical ethnobotany of the Karoo is incompletely recorded

The application of the Suzuki-Miyaura reaction in the synthesis of flavonoids, an important class of natural products, is reviewed. This reaction has not only been employed to provide access to flavonoid nuclei, but has also been applied to the synthesis of dimeric flavonoids and in the synthesis of libraries of flavonoid derivatives for biological activity studies. The classes of flavonoids that are discussed are the chalcones, flavones, isoflavones, neoflavones, biflavones and derivatives of flavonoids obtained by C-C bond formation via the Suzuki-Miyaura reaction.