Essential Oils and Terpenic Compounds as Potential Hits for Drugs against Amitochondriate Protists

Menezes, Saulo Almeida de; Tasca, Tiana

doi:10.3390/tropicalmed8010037

Cited by 5 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 100 publications

(129 reference statements)

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“…Isoprenoids have shown diverse biological activities in vitro and in vivo studies, including anti‐inflammatory, antioxidant, antiaggregant, anticoagulant, antitumor, antifungal, and antibacterial activity (Tetali, 2019; Wiart et al., 2023). Of note are its effects on various parasites such as Entamoeba histolytica (Menezes & Tasca, 2023), Trypanosoma cruzi (Moreno et al., 2018), Plasmodium falciparum (Tabefam et al., 2018), S. mansoni (McManus et al., 2018), Leishmania spp (Raimundo et al., 2022) and E. multilocularis (Liu et al., 2021). Therefore, in this review, we will examine the effects of the most promising terpene compounds with anti‐leishmanicidal, anti‐schistosomicidal, and anti‐echinococcal activity in vitro isolated from plants in the last 7 years.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Could natural terpenes be an alternative for the treatment of neglected tropical diseases?

Soto‐Sánchez

2024

Chem Biol Drug Des

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Existing chemotherapy for neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) can often be toxic and ineffective, highlighting the necessity for new treatments. Terpenes are secondary metabolites with pharmacological potential. This aim of this mini‐review is to explore the most promising natural terpenes with anti‐leishmanicidal, anti‐schistosomicidal, and anti‐echinococcal activity, their mechanisms of action, and their efficacy as combination therapy. The study identified a tetracyclic diterpenoid, a sesquiterpene lactone, and a triterpene with the highest biological activity against leishmaniasis. Additionally, a triterpenoid and a tetraterpene showed potent activity against schistosomiasis and echinococcosis, respectively. Compounds have antiparasitic effects by inducing cell death, inhibiting cell stress‐related proteins, degrading extracellular matrix, and modulating immune and inflammatory responses. The employment of combination therapy and terpene nanotransporters appears to enhance the antiparasitic activity of these compounds. Although identifying specific molecular targets is necessary, the use of terpenes in combination therapy presents a safe and highly promising approach for the rational development of more potent and selective antiparasitic drugs.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Could natural terpenes be an alternative for the treatment of neglected tropical diseases?

Soto‐Sánchez

2024

Chem Biol Drug Des

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Promising effects of 1,8 Cineole to control Giardia lamblia infection: Targeting the inflammation, oxidative stress, and infectivity

Masoori,

Khalaf,

Ezzatkhah

et al. 2024

Acta Tropica

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In Vitro and In Silico Biological Evaluation of the Essential Oil from Syzigium cumini Leaves as a Source of Novel Antifungal and Trichomonacidal Agents

Silva,

Moreira,

Bezerra

et al. 2024

Future Pharmacology

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As microbes develop resistance to various drugs, the treatment of infections becomes increasingly challenging, leading to prolonged illness, heightened severity of infections, elevated mortality rates, and increased healthcare costs. Essential oils are lipophilic and volatile mixtures of compounds that have gained attention in research for novel antimicrobial agents. Therefore, the present study evaluated the essential oil of Syzygium cumini leaves (EOSC) in order to prospect its antifungal and trichomonacidal activities. The essential oil from the leaves was extracted by steam distillation and analyzed by GC-MS. Antifungal activity was evaluated using the serial microdilution method. Additionally, the potential of the EOSC as an enhancer of fluconazole (FCZ) action was tested at subinhibitory concentrations. To assess anti-Trichomonas vaginalis activity, concentrations ranging from 15.6 to 500 μg/mL of EOSC were tested. Finally, the SwissADME platform was employed to analyze the physicochemical and pharmacokinetic characteristics of the major component of EOSC. The GC-MS analysis identified 94.24% of the components of EOSC, with α-pinene (51.11%) and nerol (8.25%) as major constituents. EOSC exhibited low antifungal activity against the evaluated Candida strains. However, the combination of EOSC and FCZ reduced the IC50 against Candida krusei from 45.29 to 0.30 μg/mL. EOSC also demonstrated significant activity against T. vaginalis (IC50 = 88.2 μg/mL). In silico prediction with α-pinene showed low toxic action and important physicochemical aspects for drug production. The essential oil of Syzygium cumini emerges as a promising candidate for the discovery of molecules with potential antifungal and anti-Trichomonas vaginalis applications.

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Essential Oils and Terpenic Compounds as Potential Hits for Drugs against Amitochondriate Protists

Cited by 5 publications

References 100 publications

Could natural terpenes be an alternative for the treatment of neglected tropical diseases?

Could natural terpenes be an alternative for the treatment of neglected tropical diseases?

Promising effects of 1,8 Cineole to control Giardia lamblia infection: Targeting the inflammation, oxidative stress, and infectivity

In Vitro and In Silico Biological Evaluation of the Essential Oil from Syzigium cumini Leaves as a Source of Novel Antifungal and Trichomonacidal Agents

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