Screening of Latin American plants for antiparasitic activities against malaria, Chagas disease, and leishmaniasis.
In order to explore rationally the medical potential of the plant biodiversity of the Central and South American region as a source of novel antiparasitic molecules, a multinational Organization of American States (OAS) project, which included the participation of multidisciplinary research centers from Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Nicaragua and Panama, was carried out during the period 2001-2004. This project aimed at screening organic plant extracts for antitrypanosomal, antileishmanial and antimalarial activities and subsequently isolating and characterizing bioactive molecules. Plants for antiparasitic screening were selected from a database of ethnomedical uses of Latin American plants (PlanMedia) based on the amount of biological and chemical information available in the literature. We report here the evaluation of 452 extracts from 311 plant species in vitro screens against Plasmodium falciparum, Leishmania mexicana, and Trypanosoma cruzi. Out of 311 species tested, 17 plants (5.4%) showed antiparasitic activities at IC(50) values < or = 10 microg/mL. The most active plants were Acnistus arborescens (L.) Schltdl. (Solanaceae) (leaf, EtOH, IC(50): 4 microg/mL) Monochaetum myrtoideum Naudin (Melastomataceae) (leaf, MeOH, IC(50): 5 microg/mL) and Bourreria huanita (Lex.) Hemsl. (Boraginaceae) (branch, EtOH, IC(50): 6 microg/mL). These were selectively active against P. falciparum, L. mexicana and T. cruzi, respectively.
Calderón
Angela I
AI
Department of Pharmacal Sciences, Harrison School of Pharmacy, Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama, USA.
Romero
Luz I
LI
Ortega-Barría
Eduardo
E
Solís
Pablo N
PN
Zacchino
Susana
S
Gimenez
Alberto
A
Pinzón
Roberto
R
Cáceres
Armando
A
Tamayo
Giselle
G
Guerra
Carlos
C
Espinosa
Alex
A
Correa
Mireya
M
Gupta
Mahabir P
MP
D000962:Antimalarials / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000977:Antiparasitic Agents / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D014355:Chagas Disease / Q000188:drug therapy; D004353:Drug Evaluation, Preclinical / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D007843:Latin America; D007896:Leishmaniasis / Q000188:drug therapy; D008288:Malaria / Q000188:drug therapy; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D010944:Plants; D011897:Random Allocation
D000962:Antimalarials; D000977:Antiparasitic Agents; D010936:Plant Extracts