Antitrypanosomal and Antileishmanial Activities

SANCHEZ ALBERTI ANDRES; CERNY N; BIVONA AE; CAZORLA SI

Sesquiterpene lactones. Advances in their chemistry and biological aspects.

Springer

Año: 2018; p. 175 - 196

Abstract The so-called neglected tropical diseases, which are endemic in 149tropical and subtropical countries, affect more than 1 billion people annually,including 875 million children in developing economies. These diseases are responsiblefor over 500,000 deaths per year and are characterized by long-term disabilityand severe pain. Neglected tropical diseases include Chagas? disease, humanAfrican trypanosomiasis, and leishmaniasis, among others. The current chemotherapeutictreatments are clearly out-of-date and inadequate because of the toxiceffects, the generation of resistance, and frequent inefficacy and because the routeand long-termschedules of administration are not adapted to the field conditions.Taken these drawbacks into account, the search for active compounds that providethe basis for the development of new therapies capable of generating curing againstT. cruzi and Leishmania spp. infections is highly desirable.Natural products are an increasing source of new drugs. In recent decades, theAsteraceae family has been extensively studied due to the large number and varietyof active compounds that can be extracted from each species. Among them, sesquiterpenelactones are characteristic phytochemicals within this family. The antiprotozoalactivity against Trypanosoma cruzi, Leishmania spp., and Plasmodium spp.has been reported for these compounds, making them interesting leads for futuredrug design.