Scholarlink

<p>Chagas disease (CD), caused by the hemoflagellate protozoan <i>Trypanosoma cruzi</i>, is one of the current 23 Neglected Tropical Diseases and, mainly, affects the less economically developed areas of Central and South America. Benznidazole and nifurtimox are the only two drugs available for the specific treatment of the infection; however, both show many drawbacks, such as their limited effectiveness, the induction of numerous adverse effects in patients and the existence of natural resistant strains of the parasite, among others. Given the urgent need to identify new antichagasic therapies, the search of bioactive natural compounds stands out as one of the main strategies for improving the therapeutic arsenal of the disease. In this framework, the present work reviews different families of secondary metabolites (e.g., alkaloids, flavonoids, quinones and terpenes) obtained from diverse plant sources, with reported anti-<i>T. cruzi</i> activity. Furthermore, some of their synthetic derivatives, which show interesting activity towards the parasite, are also revisited. In certain cases, the structure–activity relationship of the molecules is also remarked, contributing this way to the development and improvement of promising scaffolds, as well as to elucidate the mechanism of action triggered in the parasite, focusing on the mitochondrion as a crucial drug target. Accordingly, the aim of this work is to provide an overview of the most relevant plant-derived compounds and related derivatives, which have been investigated for the development of more effective CD treatments.</p>

错误：搜索内容不能为空，请输入英文关键词
错误：关键词超出字数限制，请精简
高级检索

Natural products for the treatment of Chagas disease: a review of plant-derived compounds and related synthetic derivatives as potential trypanocidal drugs

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2025年10月11日

查看全文
  • Antonio Martín-Martín,
  • Alicia Gómez-Barrio,
  • Cristina Fonseca-Berzal

摘要

Chagas disease (CD), caused by the hemoflagellate protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi, is one of the current 23 Neglected Tropical Diseases and, mainly, affects the less economically developed areas of Central and South America. Benznidazole and nifurtimox are the only two drugs available for the specific treatment of the infection; however, both show many drawbacks, such as their limited effectiveness, the induction of numerous adverse effects in patients and the existence of natural resistant strains of the parasite, among others. Given the urgent need to identify new antichagasic therapies, the search of bioactive natural compounds stands out as one of the main strategies for improving the therapeutic arsenal of the disease. In this framework, the present work reviews different families of secondary metabolites (e.g., alkaloids, flavonoids, quinones and terpenes) obtained from diverse plant sources, with reported anti-T. cruzi activity. Furthermore, some of their synthetic derivatives, which show interesting activity towards the parasite, are also revisited. In certain cases, the structure–activity relationship of the molecules is also remarked, contributing this way to the development and improvement of promising scaffolds, as well as to elucidate the mechanism of action triggered in the parasite, focusing on the mitochondrion as a crucial drug target. Accordingly, the aim of this work is to provide an overview of the most relevant plant-derived compounds and related derivatives, which have been investigated for the development of more effective CD treatments.