Natural Products Are a Promising Source for Anthelmintic Drug Discovery

Abstract

Parasitic nematodes infect almost all forms of life. In the human context, parasites are one of the major causative factors for physical and intellectual growth retardation in the developing world. In the agricultural setting, parasites have a great economic impact through a reduction in livestock performance or control cost. The main method of controlling these devastating conditions is the use of anthelmintic drugs. Unfortunately, there are only a few anthelmintic drug classes available in the market and significant resistance has developed in most of the parasitic species of livestock. Therefore, development of new anthelmintics with different modes of action is critical for sustainable parasitic control in the future. The drug development pipeline is broadly limited to two types of molecules, namely synthetic compounds and natural plant products. Compared to synthetic compounds, natural products are highly diverse, and many have historically proven valuable in folk medicine to treat various gastrointestinal ailments. This review focus on the use of traditional knowledge-based plant extracts in the development of new therapeutic leads, the approaches used as screening techniques, and common bottlenecks and opportunities in plant-based anthelmintic drug discovery.

Assessment of Avermectins-Induced Toxicity in Animals

“…Parasitic organisms like helminths, insects, and arachnids pose a serious threat to the welfare of both humans and animals [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 ]. There exists a significant host-parasite specificity with the parasites getting their metabolic and physiological needs from their hosts [ 3 ].…”

“…Parasitic organisms like helminths, insects, and arachnids pose a serious threat to the welfare of both humans and animals [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 ]. There exists a significant host-parasite specificity with the parasites getting their metabolic and physiological needs from their hosts [ 3 ]. They not only cause diseases, but also result in huge economic losses in terms of reduced productivity and retarded growth in their hosts, thus emphasizing the need for control of these parasites using novel approaches [ 6 , 7 ].…”

“…They not only cause diseases, but also result in huge economic losses in terms of reduced productivity and retarded growth in their hosts, thus emphasizing the need for control of these parasites using novel approaches [ 6 , 7 ]. Basically, there are two approaches aimed at control of parasites including either the use of synthetic molecules or the use of natural products [ 3 ].…”

Evaluation of Anthelmintic and Anti-Inflammatory Activity of 1,2,4-Triazole Derivatives

“…Currently, a narrow group of drugs is used in the treatment of parasitic diseases caused by helminths, mainly albendazole, mebendazole and semi-synthetic ivermectin. Anthelmintic agents are characterized by a variety of structures and mechanisms of action, which makes it difficult to develop a simple route in the search for new drugs [ 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 ]. Although there is an urgent need for new antiparasitic drugs, including anthelmintics, a new generation of drugs is still not available.…”

“…Therefore, it is important to conduct scientific research using both natural and synthetic chemical compounds to obtain new and effective anthelmintic drugs. Many plants have drawn attention as a potential source of anthelmintic substances [ 9 , 10 , 21 , 22 ]. The anthelmintic activity of synthetic chemical compounds has also been demonstrated, including that of thiosemicarbazide derivatives [ 23 , 24 ].…”