title: Screening of Latin American plants for antiparasitic activities against malaria, Chagas disease, and leishmaniasis.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacal Sciences, Harrison School of Pharmacy, Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama, USA.
authors.forename: Angela I
authors.initials: AI
authors.lastname: Calderón
authors.forename: Luz I
authors.initials: LI
authors.lastname: Romero
authors.forename: Eduardo
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ortega-Barría
authors.forename: Pablo N
authors.initials: PN
authors.lastname: Solís
authors.forename: Susana
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zacchino
authors.forename: Alberto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gimenez
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Pinzón
authors.forename: Armando
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cáceres
authors.forename: Giselle
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Tamayo
authors.forename: Carlos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Guerra
authors.forename: Alex
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Espinosa
authors.forename: Mireya
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Correa
authors.forename: Mahabir P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Gupta
mesh_terms: 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
chemical_list: D000962:Antimalarials; D000977:Antiparasitic Agents; D010936:Plant Extracts