Asteraceae Plants as Sources of Compounds Against Leishmaniasis and Chagas Disease

Abstract

Leishmaniasis and Chagas disease cause great impact on social and economic aspects of people living in developing countries. The treatments for these diseases are based on the same regimen for over 40 years, thus, there is an urgent need for the development of new drugs. In this scenario, Asteraceae plants (a family widely used in folk medicine worldwide) are emerging as an interesting source for new trypanocidal and leishmanicidal compounds. Herein, we provide a non-exhaustive review about the activity of plant-derived products from Asteraceae with inhibitory action toward Leishmania spp. and T. cruzi . Special attention was given to those studies aiming the isolation (or identification) of the bioactive compounds. Ferulic acid, rosmarinic acid, and ursolic acid ( Baccharis uncinella DC.) were efficient to treat experimental leishmaniasis; while deoxymikanolide ( Mikania micrantha ) and (+)-15-hydroxy-labd-7-en-17-al ( Aristeguietia glutinosa Lam.) showed in vivo anti- T. cruzi action. It is also important to highlight that several plant-derived products (compounds, essential oils) from Artemisia plants have shown high inhibitory potential against Leishmania spp., such as artemisinin and its derivatives. In summary, these compounds may help the development of new effective agents against these neglected diseases.

2-aminobenzimidazoles for leishmaniasis: From initial hit discovery to in vivo profiling

“…infantum which infect 200,000–400,000 people annually, causing more than 20,000 deaths. [ 7 , 8 ] Co-infection with HIV is a common complication and is a significant additional threat to patients health. [ 9 ]…”

Antileishmanial Activity and Influence on Mitochondria of the Essential Oil from Tagetes lucida Cav. and Its Main Component

“…In particular, several plants from the Asteraceae family have provided some lead compounds against Leishmania spp. [5,6]. Specifically, Tagetes lucida Cav.…”

Phylobioactive hotspots in plant resources used to treat Chagas disease

“…L. nobilis leaves contain a range of SLs, which may explain the significant antichagasic effects of its extract in epimastigotes. Numerous studies have addressed the selective versus non-selective antitrypanosomal effects of SLs, which are also widely present in Asteraceae ( Kimani et al, 2018 ; Moraes Neto et al, 2019 ; Muschietti and Ulloa, 2016 ). SLs like cynaropicrin and others can act as electrophiles and form adducts with biological nucleophiles, such as trypanothione, the parasitic equivalent of glutathione in mammalian cells ( Zimmermann et al, 2013 , Zimmermann et al, 2014 ).…”