Title:Review of Theoretical Models to Study Natural Products with Antiprotozoal Activity
Volume: 18
Issue: 5
Author(s): Miguel A. Herrera-Rueda, Gabriel Navarrete-Vázquez, Francisco Aguirre-Crespo, Maria Guadalupe Maldonado-Velazquez, Jorge Vergara-Galicia, Hilario Chi Canul, Xerardo Garcia-Mera and Francisco J. Prado-Prado
Affiliation:
Keywords:
Antiprotozoal, drug-receptor, metabolites, natural products, QSAR.
Abstract: In nature, pathogenic parasite species with different susceptibility patterns of antiparasitic
drugs abound. In this sense, natural products derived from plants are a potency for drugs with potential
antiparasitic activity. Unfortunately, there are many metabolites and studying all of them would be
costly in terms of money and resources. To this end, theoretical studies such as QSAR models could be
useful. These, for the most part, predict the biological activity of the drugs against a single species of
parasite. Consequently, foretell the probability with which a drug is active against many different species
with a single QSAR model is an important achievement. This review consists of three parts: the
first part is a review of metabolites found in nature that have antiparasitic activity, in particular the antiprotozoal
(Leishmania and Trypanosoma); the second part includes a review of theoretical studies looking
for a model that predicts the antiprotozoal activity of natural products; the third and final part concerns
the study of theoretical models focused on the interaction between drug and receptor, analyzing
new metabolites with antiprotozoal activity.
