Amazonian plant natural products : perspectives for discovery of new antimalarial drug leads

Pohlit, Adrian Martin and Braga Souza Lima, Renata and Frausin Bustamante, Gina and Francisco Rocha e Silva, Luiz and Costa Pinto Lopes, Stefanie and Borsoi Moraes, Carolina and Cravo, Pedro and Vinicius Guimaraes Lacerda, Marcus and Machado Siqueira, Andre and Freitas-Junior, Lucio H. and Trindade Maranhao Costa, Fabio (2013) Amazonian plant natural products : perspectives for discovery of new antimalarial drug leads. Molecules, 18. pp. 9219-9240. ISSN 1420-3049

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Abstract

Plasmodium falciparum and P. vivax malaria parasites are now resistant, or showing signs of resistance, to most drugs used in therapy. Novel chemical entities that exhibit new mechanisms of antiplasmodial action are needed. New antimalarials that block transmission of Plasmodium spp. from humans to Anopheles mosquito vectors are key to malaria eradication efforts. Although P. vivax causes a considerable number of malaria cases, its importance has for long been neglected. Vivax malaria can cause severe manifestations and death; hence there is a need for P. vivax-directed research. Plants used in traditional medicine, namely Artemisia annua and Cinchona spp. are the sources of the antimalarial natural products artemisinin and quinine, respectively. Based on these compounds, semi-synthetic artemisinin-derivatives and synthetic quinoline antimalarials have been developed and are the most important drugs in the current therapeutic arsenal for combating malaria. In the Amazon region, where P. vivax predominates, there is a local tradition of using plant-derived preparations to treat malaria. Here, we review the current P. falciparum and P. vivax drug-sensitivity assays, focusing on challenges and perspectives of drug discovery for P. vivax, including tests against hypnozoites. We also present the latest findings of our group and others on the antiplasmodial and antimalarial chemical components from Amazonian plants that may be potential drug leads against malaria.

Item Type:
Journal Article
Journal or Publication Title:
Molecules
Additional Information:
Date of Acceptance: 18/07/2013 This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Uncontrolled Keywords:
/dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/1600/1605
Subjects:
?? herbal remedyplasmodium spp.antimalarialsdrug discoveryamazonian plants organic chemistry ??
ID Code:
76136
Deposited By:
Deposited On:
21 Oct 2015 10:30
Refereed?:
Yes
Published?:
Published
Last Modified:
31 Dec 2023 00:36