Mushrooms represent a large family of fleshy fungi that have been of high interest since ancient ages due to their medicinal and nutritional importance. Therefore, it can represent a significant source of bioactive compounds in malaria control. The few numbers of studies on <i>in vitro</i> antiplasmodial and insecticidal properties of their extracts and chemical constituents led to interesting results reported in numerous scientific publications. This review aims to provide a comprehensive compilation of literature up to 2021 on the antiplasmodial, insecticidal as well as cytotoxic chemical constituents of medicinal mushrooms that can help in the management of malaria both against the parasite <i>Plasmodium falciparum</i> and the mosquitoe <i>Anopheles stephensis</i> acting as a vector of malaria through its bites. For this purpose, some searches have been done in some online libraries using keywords like Basidiomycete, mushroom, malaria, <i>Plasmodium</i>, <i>Anopheles</i> and antiplasmodial without language restriction. Among the reported compounds, 51 selected ones displayed significant antiplasmodial potency with IC₅₀ values lower than 10 μM against <i>P. falciparum</i> strains sensitive or resistant to chloroquine. For instance, ganoderic acid AW1 demonstrated a strong antiplasmodial activity with IC₅₀ of 257.8 nM against <i>P. falciparum</i> D6, while strong activities were displayed by ganoweberianones A (IC₅₀ = 0.050 μM) and B (IC₅₀ = 0.46 μM) against <i>P. falciparum</i> K1. Moreover, some mushroom methanol extracts demonstrated good larvicidal and ovicidal activities against <i>Anopheles stephensis</i>. This paper provides further insights into the development of new antiplasmodial drugs or new potent eco-friendly pesticides to control mosquito vectors.

<i>Pycnanthus angolensis</i>, widely known under its trade name "ilomba", is a medicinal plant from the family Myristicaceae that has occupied a prominent place in African traditional medicine for several decades; its broad application to treat numerous diseases, including malaria, bacterial infections and most recently COVID-19. The various chemical studies undertaken on the plant identified many classes of specialized compounds, including quinone-terpenoids, lignans and isoflavonoids, as the most abundant and bioactive components. The plant is defined as a major asset in developing new potent drugs and deserves further investigation in this regard. This mini-review aims to compile the newly documented findings on the traditional uses, phytochemistry and pharmacology of<i> P. angolensis</i> over the last decade from 2012 to 2021. In this regard, a literature search using the keyword <i>Pycnanthus</i> has been done without language restriction in numerous online libraries, including Scifinder, PubMed, Google Scholar, and only papers on <i>Pycnanthus angolensis</i> published after 2011 have been exploited during the writing.

The phytochemical investigations of the methanol extract of Zanthoxylum gilletii bark led to the isolation of thirteen compounds identified as two alkaloids including one acridone 5-hydroxynoracronycine (1) and one benzo [c] phenanthridine decarine (2), three lignans trans- and cis-fagaramide (3 and 4) and sesamin (5), two coumarins scoparone (6) and scopoletin (7), three pentacyclic triterpenoids fridelin (8), lupeol (9) and erythrodiol-3-O-palmitate (10), one phenolic compound vanillic acid (11) as well as two common steroids stigmasterol (12), and its derivative stigmasterol-3-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (13). The structures of all the isolated compounds were elucidated by means of their spectroscopic and spectrometric data (1D, 2D-NMR, MS) as well as the comparison of these data with those reported in the literature. Except for compounds 9 and 11–13, all the other isolated compounds are reported for the first time from Z. gilletii but have been already obtained from other Zanthoxylum species and in the Rutaceae family. Compounds 1, 3–5, and 9 were tested in vitro for their antiplasmodial potencies against Plasmodium falciparum 3D7, and the results revealed that all the tested compounds displayed an inhibition between 51.89% and 54.69% while only the mixture of 3 + 4 gave an IC50 lower than 10 000 nM (IC50 = 1333 nM). Furthermore, all the compounds have been evaluated in silico for their ability to inhibit the Plasmodium falciparum dihydroorotate dehydrogenase 5TBO. Sesamin (5) showed the greatest affinity to the antiplasmodium receptor than artemether® and chloroquine®. Further recorded data from their ADMET study, as well as their chemotaxonomy, are also discussed herein. The present study provides further information to enrich the chemistry of Z. gilletii and its qualification as an important source for good candidates in new antiplasmodial drug development.

From the chemical investigations of the root bark of Uapaca guineensis, nine distinct compounds (1–9) have been isolated and characterized as lupeol, betulin, betulinic acid, β-amyryl acetate, physcion, quercetin, rutin, β-sitosterol, and β-sitosterol-3-O-β-D-glucopyranoside, respectively. The structures of all the isolated compounds have been established using their NMR data as well as the comparison of those data with the ones reported in the literature. Interestingly, to the best of our knowledge, except for the lupane-type triterpenoids (1–3) and compounds 4 and 9, all the other compounds are reported for the first time from this genus. Since the plant is widely used for the treatment of skin diseases, leishmaniasis and inflammatory diseases, the antileishmanial and anti-inflammatory potencies of all the isolated compounds have been computationally validated through their ability to inhibit the receptors 1QCC and 2XOX (for the antileishmanial studies) and 6Y3C and 1CX2 (for the anti-inflammatory studies). Furthermore, the ADMET studies of compounds have been done to evaluate their drug-likeness. Results demonstrate that all the isolated compounds showed a better affinity for both receptors’ binding sites than the standard drugs miltefosine and aspirin. Moreover, the compounds would not cause addiction when used as lead molecules whereas, aspirin is predicted to violate the BBB over a long term of usage as a drug. This study gives additional information on the chemistry of U. guineensis and its classification as a potential source of good leads for the development of potent antileishmanial and anti-inflammatory drugs.

The roots of <i>Zanthoxylum gilletii</i> have been chemically investigated and led to the isolation and characterization of nine compounds including three benzo[<i>c</i>]phenanthridine alkaloids oxychelerythrine (<b>1</b>), angoline (<b>2</b>) and arnottianamide (<b>3</b>); two glycosylated flavonoids hesperidin (<b>4</b>) and its analogue neohesperidin (<b>5</b>) along with four common specialized metabolites including sesamin (<b>6</b>), lupeol (<b>7</b>), β-sitosterol (<b>8</b>) and its derivative daucosterol (<b>9</b>). Their structures were established based on their recorded 1D and 2D-NMR data. Some compounds (<b>1</b>, <b>2</b>, <b>3</b>, <b>6</b> and <b>7</b>) did not display a cytotoxic activity until the highest concentration of 200 μM against the human cell lines MCF-7 and A549. The chemotaxonomic relevance of this study has been discussed. To the best of our knowledge, except for the five compounds <b>3</b>, <b>6</b>-<b>9</b>, all the four others have been for the first time isolated from <i>Z. gilletii</i> (Rutaceae).