Plant Extracts as a Source of Natural Products with Potential Antimalarial Effects: An Update from 2018 to 2022

Author(s)

Ribeiro, Giovane de Jesus Gomes ; Yan, Sun Liu Rei ; Palmisano, Giuseppe ; Wrenger, Carsten

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: PHARMACEUTICS; v. 15, n. 6, p. 19-pg., 2023-06-01.

Abstract

Malaria kills more than 500,000 people yearly, mainly affecting Africa and Southeast Asia. The disease is caused by the protozoan parasite from the genus Plasmodium, with Plasmodium vivax and Plasmodium falciparum being the main species that cause the disease in humans. Although substantial progress has been observed in malaria research in the last years, the threat of the spread of Plasmodium parasites persists. Artemisinin-resistant strains of this parasite have been reported mainly in Southeast Asia, highlighting the urgent need to develop more effective and safe antimalarial drugs. In this context, natural sources, mainly from flora, remain underexplored antimalarial spaces. The present mini-review explores this space focusing on plant extracts and some of their isolated natural products with at least in vitro antiplasmodial effects reported in the literature comprising the last five years (2018-2022). (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 18/15549-1 - Post-translational modifications in Chagas Disease biological processes and diagnostics: novel methodological approaches and biological applications
• Grantee: Giuseppe Palmisano
• Support Opportunities: Research Grants - Young Investigators Grants - Phase 2
• FAPESP's process: 18/18257-1 - Multi-user equipment approved in grant 14/06863-3: HPLC system configured for analysis of carbohydrates, amino acidis, peptides and glycoproteins
• Grantee: Giuseppe Palmisano
• Support Opportunities: Multi-user Equipment Program
• FAPESP's process: 20/04923-0 - SARS-CoV-2 glycosylation: a blueprint structural insight for understanding COVID-19 pathogenesis
• Grantee: Giuseppe Palmisano
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• FAPESP's process: 17/26358-0 - Dissection of the lipoic acid metabolism as druggable target in Malaria
• Grantee: Sun Liu Rei Yan
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• FAPESP's process: 15/26722-8 - Drug discovery against human infectious diseases
• Grantee: Carsten Wrenger
• Support Opportunities: Research Projects - Thematic Grants