Font Size: 

Background: Malaria is an infectious disease transmitted by Anopheles sp mosquitoes which is still a major health problem in Indonesia. West Nusa Tenggara is one of the province in Indonesia which is the second highest incidence of malaria, about 1.190 cases in 2017. Chalcons is one of the compounds indicated having antimalarial activity. Ashitaba (Angelica keiskei K.) is one of the plants that is rich in chalcone and thrives in West Nusa Tenggara. Objective: This study aims to determine the antimalarial activity by in vitro assay of Ashitaba root extract. Material and Method: This study used a type of true experimental research with a post-test only control group design approach in vitro against the Plasmodium falciparum strain 3D7. Result: The results showed that Ashitaba root extract had inhibitory activity as indicated by IC₅₀ value of 16,091 µg/ml. Conclusion: Ashitaba root extract can be categorized as one of the antimalarial agents. The isolation of compounds from Ashitaba seems interest for further antimalarial studies. 

Key words: antimalarial, ashitaba, chalcone, in vitro, P. falciparum