title: Diterpenes as lead molecules against neglected tropical diseases.
abstract: Nowadays, neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) are reported to be present everywhere. Poor and developing areas in the world have received great attention to NTDs. Drug resistance, safety profile, and various challenges stimulate the search for alternative medications. Plant-based drugs are viewed with great interest, as they are believed to be devoid of side effects. Diterpenes, a family of essential oils, have showed attractive biological effects. A systematic review of the literature was carried out to summarize available evidences of diterpenes against NTDs. For this, databases were searched using specific search terms. Among the 2338 collected reports, a total of 181 articles were included in this review. Of them, 148 dealt with investigations using single organisms, and 33 used multiple organisms. No mechanisms of action were reported in the case of 164 reports. A total of 93.92% were related to nonclinical studies, and 4.42% and 1.66% dealt with preclinical and clinical studies, respectively. The review displays that many diterpenes are effective upon Chagas disease, chikungunya, echinococcosis, dengue, leishmaniasis, leprosy, lymphatic filariasis, malaria, schistosomiasis, and tuberculosis. Indeed, diterpenes are amazing drug candidates against NTDs. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
authors.affiliation: Postgraduate Program in Biotechnology (RENORBIO), Federal University of Piauí, Teresina, Piauí, 64.049-550, Brazil.
authors.forename: Marcus Vinícius Oliveira
authors.initials: MV
authors.lastname: Barros de Alencar
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, Federal University of Piauí, Picos, (Piauí), 64.607-670, Brazil.|Postgraduate Program in Pharmaceutical Sciences, Federal University of Piauí, Teresina, Piauí, 64.049-550, Brazil.
authors.forename: João Marcelo
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: de Castro E Sousa
authors.affiliation: Postgraduate Program in Pharmaceutical Sciences, Federal University of Piauí, Teresina, Piauí, 64.049-550, Brazil.|Department of Pharmacy, Federal University of Piauí, Teresina, Piauí, 64.049-550, Brazil.
authors.forename: Hercília Maria Lins
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Rolim
authors.affiliation: Postgraduate Program in Pharmaceutical Sciences, Federal University of Piauí, Teresina, Piauí, 64.049-550, Brazil.|Department of Pharmacy, Federal University of Piauí, Teresina, Piauí, 64.049-550, Brazil.
authors.forename: Maria das Graças Freire
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: de Medeiros
authors.affiliation: Postgraduate Program in Pharmaceutical Sciences, Federal University of Piauí, Teresina, Piauí, 64.049-550, Brazil.|Postgraduate Program in Biotechnology, Biotechnology and Biodiversity Center for Research (BIOTEC), Federal University of Piauí (LAFFEX), Parnaíba, Piauí, 64.218-470, Brazil.
authors.forename: Gilberto Santos
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Cerqueira
authors.affiliation: Postgraduate Program in Biotechnology (RENORBIO), Federal University of Piauí, Teresina, Piauí, 64.049-550, Brazil.|Department of Biochemistry and Pharmacology, Federal University of Piauí, Teresina, Piauí, 64.049-550, Brazil.
authors.forename: Fernanda Regina
authors.initials: FR
authors.lastname: de Castro Almeida
authors.affiliation: Postgraduate Program in Pharmaceutical Sciences, Federal University of Piauí, Teresina, Piauí, 64.049-550, Brazil.|Department of Chemistry, Federal University of Piauí, Teresina, Piauí, 64.049-550, Brazil.
authors.forename: Antônia Maria das Graças Lopes
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Citó
authors.affiliation: Postgraduate Program in Biotechnology (RENORBIO), Federal University of Piauí, Teresina, Piauí, 64.049-550, Brazil.|Postgraduate Program in Pharmaceutical Sciences, Federal University of Piauí, Teresina, Piauí, 64.049-550, Brazil.|Department of Biophysics and Physiology, Federal University of Piauí, Teresina, Piauí, 64.049-550, Brazil.
authors.forename: Paulo Michel Pinheiro
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Ferreira
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Federal University of Piauí, Teresina, Piauí, 64.049-550, Brazil.
authors.forename: José Arimatéia Dantas
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Lopes
authors.affiliation: Postgraduate Program in Biotechnology (RENORBIO), Federal University of Piauí, Teresina, Piauí, 64.049-550, Brazil.|Postgraduate Program in Pharmaceutical Sciences, Federal University of Piauí, Teresina, Piauí, 64.049-550, Brazil.
authors.forename: Ana Amélia
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: de Carvalho Melo-Cavalcante
authors.affiliation: Postgraduate Program in Biotechnology (RENORBIO), Federal University of Piauí, Teresina, Piauí, 64.049-550, Brazil.|Department of Pharmacy, Southern University Bangladesh, Mehedibag, Chittagong, 4000, Bangladesh.
authors.forename: Md Torequl
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Islam
mesh_terms: D004224:Diterpenes / Q000737:chemistry*; D006801:Humans; D058069:Neglected Diseases / Q000628:therapy*; D014330:Tropical Medicine / Q000639:trends*
chemical_list: D004224:Diterpenes
keywords: diterpenes; neglected tropical diseases; therapeutic potential