Can the Cure for Chagas’ Disease be Found in Nature?

Abstract

Nature is a skilled factory that produces a wide variety of secondary metabolites known as natural products. Those compounds synthesized by living organisms are usually related to their vital processes. Many drugs used nowadays, had its origins in medicinal plants and other organisms such as herbs, fungi and sponges. Hence, those sources constitute a viable alternative to conventional medicine in many developing countries. In other hand, protozoan diseases like Chagas, represent a health threat causing mortality to populations around the world. The classic treatment for Chagas' disease is chemotherapic and includes benznidazole and nifurtimox, although, the search for new drugs still remains. Triatomines that may spread Chagas can also be controlled making use of the insecticide property of certain plants. After literature survey it was found, classes of natural products, plant extracts, essential oils, and other natural sources that have shown activity against T. cruzi. In this context, many substances were tested in vitro and in vivo assays to verify trypanocidal efficacy. Promising results were published regarding to compounds arising from plants and sponges that showed high toxicity on different forms of the parasite with low toxicity on mammalian cells, although few were clinically tested on Chagas' disease.

Potential of essential oils to prevent fly strike and their effects on the longevity of adultLucilia sericata

“…Essential oils are "natural, " relatively safe, pleasantsmelling, and have anti-feedant, repellent, and woundhealing properties that make them acceptable to the public and attractive to organic producers and environmentally conscious consumers (Khater 2012a(Khater ,b, 2013. These qualities make EOs a promising tool for management programs against a wide range of pests of medical and veterinary importance (Shalaby and Khater 2005, Khater and Shalaby 2008, 2014, Vaz 2017, including larval stages of L. sericata (Khater et al 2011(Khater et al , 2018.…”