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Publication Details
AFRICAN RESEARCH NEXUS
SHINING A SPOTLIGHT ON AFRICAN RESEARCH
biochemistry, genetics and molecular biology
The potential of secondary metabolites from plants as drugs or leads against protozoan neglected diseases - Part I
Current Medicinal Chemistry, Volume 19, No. 14, Year 2012
Notification
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Description
Infections with protozoan parasites are a major cause of disease and mortality in many tropical countries of the world. Diseases caused by species of the genera Trypanosoma (Human African Trypanosomiasis and Chagas Disease) and Leishmania (various forms of Leishmaniasis) are among the seventeen "Neglected Tropical Diseases" (NTDs) defined as such by WHO due to the neglect of financial investment into research and development of new drugs by a large part of pharmaceutical industry and neglect of public awareness in high income countries. Another major tropical protozoan disease is malaria (caused by various Plasmodium species), which -although not mentioned currently by the WHO as a neglected disease- still represents a major problem, especially to people living under poor circumstances in tropical countries. Malaria causes by far the highest number of deaths of all protozoan infections and is often (as in this review) included in the NTDs. The mentioned diseases threaten many millions of lives world-wide and they are mostly associated with poor socioeconomic and hygienic environment. Existing therapies suffer from various shortcomings, namely, a high degree of toxicity and unwanted effects, lack of availability and/or problematic application under the life conditions of affected populations. Development of new, safe and affordable drugs is therefore an urgent need. Nature has provided an innumerable number of drugs for the treatment of many serious diseases. Among the natural sources for new bioactive chemicals, plants are still predominant. Their secondary metabolism yields an immeasurable wealth of chemical structures which has been and will continue to be a source of new drugs, directly in their native form and after optimization by synthetic medicinal chemistry. The current review, published in two parts, attempts to give an overview on the potential of such plant-derived natural products as antiprotozoal leads and/or drugs in the fight against NTDs. © 2012 Bentham Science Publishers.
Authors & Co-Authors
Schmidt, Thomas Jürgen
Germany, Munster
University of Münster
Khalid, Sami Ahmed
Sudan, Omdurman
University of Science and Technology
Romanha, Álvaro José
Brazil, Florianopolis
Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina
Brazil, Rio de Janeiro
Fundacao Oswaldo Cruz
Alves, Tânia Maria De Almeida
Brazil, Rio de Janeiro
Fundacao Oswaldo Cruz
Biavatti, Maique Weber
Brazil, Florianopolis
Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina
Brun, Reto
Switzerland, Basel
Universitat Basel
Da Costa, Fernando Batista
Brazil, Sao Paulo
Universidade de São Paulo
De-Castro, Solange Lisboa
Brazil, Rio de Janeiro
Fundacao Oswaldo Cruz
Ferreira, Vítor Francisco
Brazil, Niteroi
Universidade Federal Fluminense
Lacerda, Marcus V. G.
Brazil, Manaus
Fundacao de Medicina Tropical do Amazonas
Lago, J. H.G.
Brazil, Sao Paulo
Universidade Federal de São Paulo
Leon, Leonor Laura Pinto
Brazil, Rio de Janeiro
Fundacao Oswaldo Cruz
Lopes, Norberto Peporine
Brazil, Sao Paulo
Universidade de São Paulo
das Neves Amorim, Rodrigo César
Brazil, Manaus
Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazonia
Niehues, Michael
Brazil, Sao Paulo
Universidade de São Paulo
Ogungbe, Ifedayo Victor
United States, Huntsville
The University of Alabama in Huntsville
Pohlit, Adrian Martin
Brazil, Manaus
Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazonia
Scotti, Marcus T.
Brazil, Joao Pessoa
Universidade Federal da Paraíba
Setzer, William N.
United States, Huntsville
The University of Alabama in Huntsville
de Soeiro, Maria Nazaré C.
Brazil, Rio de Janeiro
Fundacao Oswaldo Cruz
Steindel, Mário
Brazil, Florianopolis
Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina
Tempone, Andre Gustavo
Brazil, Cerqueira Cesar
Instituto Adolfo Lutz
Statistics
Citations: 261
Authors: 22
Affiliations: 13
Identifiers
Doi:
10.2174/092986712800229023
ISSN:
09298673
e-ISSN:
1875533X
Research Areas
Infectious Diseases
Violence And Injury