Frontiers in Clinical Drug Research - Anti Infectives: Volume 7

Atta-ur-Rahman

• Publisher: Bentham Science Publishers
• Year: 2021
• ISBN:
  9789814998093
• Topic: Physical Sciences
• Subtopic: Clinical Chemistry

Frontiers in Clinical Drug Research – Anti infectives is a book series that brings updated reviews to readers interested in learning about advances in the development of pharmaceutical agents for the treatment of infectious diseases. The scope of the book series covers a range of topics including the chemistry, pharmacology, molecular biology and biochemistry of natural and synthetic drugs employed in the treatment of infectious diseases. Reviews in this series also include research on multi drug resistance and pre-clinical / clinical findings on novel antibiotics, vaccines, antifungal agents and antitubercular agents. Frontiers in Clinical Drug Research – Anti infectives is a valuable resource for pharmaceutical scientists and postgraduate students seeking updated and critically important information for developing clinical trials and devising research plans in the field of anti infective drug discovery and epidemiology. The seventh volume of this series features these interesting reviews:
- Nucleic acid and peptide aptamers as potential antiviral drugs
- Host-directed, antibiotic-adjuvant combination, and antibiotic-antibiotic combination for treating multidrug-resistant (mdr) gram-negative pathogens
- Bioactive substances as anti-infective strategies against clostridioides difficile
- Anti-toxoplasma drug discovery and natural products: a brief overview
- Development of antimalarial and antileishmanial drugs from amazonian biodiversity

Development of Antimalarial and Antileishmanial Drugs from Amazonian Biodiversity

Antônio R. Q. Gomes¹, Kelly C. O. Albuquerque², Heliton P. C. Brígido¹, Juliana Correa-Barbosa¹, Maria Fâni Dolabela^{1, 2}, Sandro Percário^{2, *}

¹ Post-Graduate Program in Pharmaceutical Innovation, Federal University of Pará, Belém, PA, Brazil

² Post-Graduate Program in Biodiversity and Biotechnology of the BIONORTE Network, Federal University of Pará, Belém, PA, Brazil

³ Post-Graduate Program in Pharmaceutical Sciences, Federal University of Pará, Belém, PA, Brazil

Abstract

The search for therapeutic alternatives for the treatment of malaria and leishmaniasis is particularly important, given the increase in parasitic resistance to available drugs, as well as the high toxicity of those drugs. In this context, the Amazon region can make an important contribution through its high biodiversity of plants, many of which are informally used by local populations for the treatment of malaria, and leishmaniasis. This chapter aims to describe the main Amazonian species used to treat malaria and leishmaniasis in Brazilian folk medicine, relating ethnobotanical results to chemical studies, evaluation of activities, and toxicity. Different studies report the treatment of malaria with plants, with the most cited species being Aspidosperma nitidum Benth. (Apocynaceae); Geissospermum sericeum (Sagot.) Benth & Hook (Apocynaceae); Euterpe precatoria Mart. (Arecaceae); Persea americana Mill (Lauraceae); Bertholletia excelsa Bonpl (Lecythidaceae); Portulaca pilosa L. (Portulaceae); Ampelozizyphus amazonicus Ducke (Rhamnaceae). Additionally, traditional Amazonian populations use plants for the treatment of wounds, a clinical aspect associated with leishmaniasis, with the most cited genus being Copaiba and Jatropha. The antileishmanial activity of copaiba oil has been demonstrated, and it seems that this activity is related to terpenes. Another genus that deserves attention is Musa, used for the treatment of severe wounds. The leishmanicidal activity of triterpenes isolated from Musa paradisiaca and its anacardic acid and synthetic derivatives, which have been used against Leishmania infantum chagasi, was also tested. In summary, several isolated compounds of plants used in traditional Amazonian medicine are promising as antimalarial and antileishmanial drugs.

Keywords: Amazon, Aspidosperma nitidum, Bertholletia excelsa, Copaiba, Euterpe precatoria, Geissospermum sericeum, Jatropha gossypiifolia, Leishmaniasis, Malaria, Medicinal plants, Musa parasidiaca, Persea americana.

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^* Corresponding author Sandro Percário: Post-Graduate Program in Biodiversity and Biotechnology of the BIONORTE Network, Federal University of Pará, Belém, PA, Brazil;
E-mails: [email protected] and [email protected]

INTRODUCTION

The recognition of the environmental limits of the modern development model has imposed the need for new forms of global governance upon the planetary environment, requiring proposals for sustainable development that oppose the worsening of environmental degradation and biodiversity loss [1].

In Brazil, the Amazon region and its people have been threatened by short-sighted, profit-driven economic interests, driving the increase in deforestation in an increasingly chaotic way. According to the Real-Time Legal Amazon Deforestation Detection System (DETER), deforestation alerts were recorded in an area of 4,219.3 square kilometers in 2018, and in 2019, 9,165.6 square kilometers of forest were deforested – more than double the area recorded in the previous year.

This accelerated deforestation will probably result in the extinction of many plant species, which will have negative impacts on the culture of the use of medicinal plants by the peoples of the Amazon. In 2005, it was estimated that about 180 indigenous peoples (approximately 208,000 individuals) li...