Current approaches to discover marine antileishmanial natural products

Tempone, Andre G.; Oliveira, Camila Martins de; Berlinck, Roberto G.S.

Current approaches to discover marine antileishmanial natural products

2011

Tempone, Andre G. | Oliveira, Camila Martins de | Berlinck, Roberto G.S.

Leishmaniasis is a neglected infectious disease caused by kinetoplastid protozoans. An urgent need for novel chemotherapeutics exists. The current approaches to discover new antileishmanial compounds present many drawbacks, including high-cost and time-consuming bioassays. Thus, advances in leishmaniasis treatment are limited, and the development of screening assays is hindered. The combination of multidisciplinary approaches using standardised methods and synchronous projects could be an alternative to develop novel drugs for leishmaniasis treatment. In this review, we discuss the current status of leishmaniasis occurrence and treatment. In addition, we address the advantages and limitations of in vitro leishmaniasis bioassays and discuss the findings of drug discovery research using natural products. Finally, we comprehensively review the marine natural products that are active against Leishmania spp., including their natural sources and bioactivity profile.

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