therapeutic potential of microencapsulated 𝐻𝑜𝑙𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑢𝑟𝑖𝑎 𝑎𝑡𝑟𝑎 extract in malaria control and cellular protection: a computational and 𝑖𝑛 𝑣𝑖𝑡𝑟𝑜 study

This study explores marine biota, particularly holothuria atra, for its potential as antimalarial drugs based on the resistance to artemisinin combination treatments (act). the microencapsulation procedures for h. atra extract involve encapsulating the extract in a protective coating designed to enhance the efficiency and stability of its formulation. this study aims to observe and analyze the antimalarial activity and cytotoxicity of three formulations of microencapsulation (combination soy protein isolate/spi and gum arabic/ga with different ratios: 1:1, 1:4, and 4:1) extracts of h. atra using a computational molecular docking and in vitro approach. the toxicological characteristics were evaluated utilizing the resazurin cytotoxicity assay technique with the bhk21 cell lines. the analysis showed that two formulations of microencapsulated extract h. atra (spi-ga 4:1 and 1:4) have moderate antimalarial activity (15 µg/ml < ic50 ≤ 50 µg/ml). one formulation (spi-ga 1:1) has a low malarial activity (ic50 > 50 µg/ml). notably, the three microencapsulation formulations have a high cytotoxic concentration of 50 (cc50) (>50 µg/ml), indicating that the three formulations of microencapsulated h. atra extract are safe for consumption and can be developed as a new antimalarial regimen, providing reassurance about their potential use. computational performance revealed that three of nine terpenoid h. atra microcapsules-17-hydroxyfucocineroside, fuscocineroside c, and holothurin a3- combat plasmodium falciparum dihydrofolate reductase-thymidylate synthase (pfdhfr-ts) protein for dna synthesis. combating the pfdhfr-ts protein reduces plasmodium growth and development. in summary, h. atra microencapsulation is effective as a therapeutic agent for malaria and enhances compound stability.