IQUIMEFA   05518
INSTITUTO QUIMICA Y METABOLISMO DEL FARMACO
Unidad Ejecutora - UE
capítulos de libros
Título:
Trypanocidal and Leishmanicidal Activities of South American Medicinal Plants
Autor/es:
MUSCHIETTI LILIANA; SULSEN VALERIA; MARTINO VIRGINIA
Libro:
South American Medicinal Plants as a Potential Source of Bioactive Compounds
Editorial:
Research Signpost
Referencias:
Lugar: Kerala India; Año: 2008;
Resumen:
The so called neglected diseases such as Chagas´ disease and leishmaniasis remain as a major health problem in the poorest regions of the world. This problem is the result of the low investments in the research and development (R&D) of new drugs. Therefore, new approaches for innovative and cost-effective drug discovery are urgently required to alleviate the needs of the most affected. Among natural products, higher plants are an important source of bioactive compounds and lead molecules for drug development. In the field of parasitic diseases drug development from higher plants resulted successful for  quinine and artemisinin as antimalarial agents. In this context, this chapter provides an overview of the trypanocidal and leishmanicidal activities reported for selected South American medicinal plants and pure compounds isolated over the past few years. Besides, the traditional uses of medicinal plants by South American Indians are reviewed to highlight the importance of the ethnomedical data in a drug discovery process.