Trypanocidal and leishmanicidal activity of six limonoids

Six limonoids [kotschyienone A and B (1, 2), 7-deacetylgedunin (3), 7-deacetyl-7-oxogedunin (4), andirobin (5) and methyl angolensate (6)] were investigated for their trypanocidal and leishmanicidal activities using bloodstream forms of Trypanosoma brucei and promastigotes of Leishmania major. Whereas all compounds showed anti-trypanosomal activity, only compounds 1–4 displayed anti-leishmanial activity. The 50% growth inhibition (GI 50) values for the trypanocidal and leishmanicidal activity of the compounds ranged between 2.5 and 14.9 μM. Kotschyienone A (1) was found to be the most active compound with a minimal inhibition concentration (MIC) value of 10 μM and GI 50 values between 2.5 and 2.9 μM. Only compounds 1 and 3 showed moderate cytotoxicity against HL-60 cells with MIC and GI 50 values of 100 μM and 31.5–46.2 μM, respectively. Compound 1 was also found to show activity against intracellular amastigotes of L. major with a GI 50 value of 1.5 μM. The results suggest that limonoids have potential as drug candidates for the development of new treatments against trypanosomiasis and leishmaniasis

Traditional Medicine: Past, present and future research and development prospects and integration in the National Health System of Cameroon

Traditional medicine refers to health practices, approaches, knowledge and beliefs incorporating plant, animal and mineral based medicines, spiritual therapies, manual techniques and exercises, applied singularly or in combination to treat, diagnose and prevent illnesses or maintain well-being. In the last decade traditional medicine has become very popular in Cameroon, partly due to the long unsustainable economic situation in the country. The high cost of drugs and increase in drug resistance to common diseases like malaria, bacteria infections and other sexually transmitted diseases has caused the therapeutic approach to alternative traditional medicine as an option for concerted search for new chemical entities (NCE). The World Health Organisation (WHO) in collaboration with the Cameroon Government has put in place a strategic platform for the practice and development of TM in Cameroon. This platform aims at harmonizing the traditional medicine practice in the country, create a synergy between TM and modern medicine and to institutionalize a more harmonized integrated TM practices by the year 2012 in Cameroon. An overview of the practice of TM past, present and future perspectives that underpins the role in sustainable poverty alleviation has been discussed. This study gives an insight into the  strategic plan and road map set up by the Government of Cameroon for the organisational framework and research platform for the practice and development of TM, and the global partnership involving the management of TM in the country.Key words: Tradttional medicine, Cameroon

TRADITIONAL MEDICINE: PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PROSPECTS AND INTEGRATION IN THE NATIONAL HEALTH SYSTEM OF CAMEROON.

Traditional medicine refers to health practices, approaches, knowledge and beliefs incorporating plant, animal and mineral based medicines, spiritual therapies, manual techniques and exercises, applied singularly or in combination to treat, diagnose and prevent illnesses or maintain well-being. In the last decade traditional medicine has become very popular in Cameroon, partly due to the long unsustainable economic situation in the country. The high cost of drugs and increase in drug resistance to common diseases like malaria, bacteria infections and other sexually transmitted diseases has caused the therapeutic approach to alternative traditional medicine as an option for concerted search for new chemical entities (NCE). The World Health Organisation (WHO) in collaboration with the Cameroon Government has put in place a strategic platform for the practice and development of TM in Cameroon. This platform aims at harmonizing the traditional medicine practice in the country, create a synergy between TM and modern medicine and to institutionalize a more harmonized integrated TM practices by the year 2012 in Cameroon. An overview of the practice of TM past, present and future perspectives that underpins the role in sustainable poverty alleviation has been discussed. This study gives an insight into the strategic plan and road map set up by the Government of Cameroon for the organisational framework and research platform for the practice and development of TM, and the global partnership involving the management of TM in the country

Sinteza, antimikrobno i antitumorsko djelovanje nekoliko novih N-etil, N-benzil i N-benzoil-3-indolil heterocikličkih spojeva

A series of 1-(N-substituted-1H-indol-3-yl)-3-arylprop-2-ene-1-ones (2a,b-4a,b) were prepared and allowed to react with urea, thiourea or guanidine to give pyrimidine derivatives 5a,b–13a,b. Reaction of 2a,b-4a,b with ethyl acetoacetate in the presence of a base gave cyclohexanone derivatives 14a,b-16a,b. Reaction of the latter compounds with hydrazine hydrate afforded indazole derivatives 17a,b-19a,b. On the other hand, reaction of 2a,b-4a,b with some hydrazine derivatives, namely hydrazine hydrate, acetyl hydrazine, phenyl- hydrazine and benzylhydrazine hydrochloride, led to the formation of pyrazole derivatives 20a,b-31a,b. Moreover, reaction of 2a,b-4a,b with hydroxylamine hydrochloride gave isoxazole derivatives 32a,b-34a,b. The newly synthesized compounds were tested for their antimicrobial activity and showed that 4-(N-ethyl-1H-indol-3-yl)-6-(p-chlorophenyl)-pyrimidine-2-amine (11b) was the most active of all the test compounds towards Candida albicans compared to the reference drug cycloheximide. Eighteen new compounds, namely pyrimidin-2(1H)-ones 5a,b-7a,b, pyrimidin-2(1H)-thiones 8a,b-10a,b and pyrimidin-2-amines 11a,b-13a,b derivatives, were tested for their in vitro antiproliferative activity against HEPG2, MCF7 and HCT-116 cancer cell lines. 4-(N-ethyl-1H-indol-3-yl)-6-(p-methoxyphenyl)-pyrimidin-2-amine (11a) was found to be highly active with IC50 of 0.7 µmol L1.Sintetizirana je serija 1-(N-supstituiranih-1H-indol-3-il)-3-arilprop-2-en-1-ona (2a,b-4a,b) i podvrgnuta reakciji s ureom, tioureom ili gvanidinom, pri čemu su nastali derivati pirimidina 5a,b–13a,b. Reakcijom 2a,b-4a,b s etil-acetoacetatom u prisutnosti baze nastali su derivati cikloheksanona 14a,b-16a,b. Njihovom reakcijom s hidrazin hidratom dobiveni su derivati indazola 17a,b-19a,b. S druge strane, reakcijom 2a,b-4a,b s određenim derivatima hidrazina, tj. s hidrazin hidratom, acetil hidrazinom, fenilhidrazinom i benzilhidrazin hidrokloridom, nastali su derivati pirazola 20a,b-31a,b. Nadalje, reakcijom 2a,b-4a,b s hidroksilamin hidrokloridom dobiveni su derivati izoksazola 32a,b-34a,b. Pripravljeni spojevi ispitani su na antimikrobno djelovanje. Pokazalo se da je 4-(N-etil-1H-indol-3-il)-6-(p-klorfenil)-pirimidin-2-amin (11b) najaktivniji spoj za Candida albicans (ATCC 10231) uz cikloheksimid kao poredbeni lijek. Testirano je antitumorsko djelovanje in vitro osamnaest novih spojeva, tj. pirimidin-2(1H)-ona 5a,b-7a,b, pirimidin-2(1H)-tiona 8a,b-10a,b i pirimidin-2-amina 11a,b-13a,b na tumorske stanice HEPG2, MCF7 i HCT-116. Najaktivniji spoj bio je 4-(N-etil-1H-indol-3-il)-6-(p-metoksifenil)-pirimidin-2-amin (11a) uz IC50 0,7 µmol L1

Development of antimalaria, antibacterial, anticancer and antitumour drugs from new chemical entities from plant sources

Higher plants are capable of synthesizing complex and advanced chemical substances. Many of the unique gene sources may be lost through extinction, but as plants have great potential for producing new drugs, some remed-ial actions are required to preserve medicinal potential of plants. In cancer treatment, the percentage of non-synthetic small molecules of new chemical entities has averaged about 62 %. In other therapeutic areas, such as cardiovascular, antimicrobials, sexual dysfunction, and metabolic diseases, there has been extensive developme-nt of new chemical entities. In anti-hypertensive treatment, out of 74 synthetic drugs, about 48 have been traced to natural products. Active pharmaceutical ingredients, as lead compounds from plant sources have been devel-oped for many cancer antibiotics and anti-parasitic drugs. Other challenges of medicinal plant research are link-ed to the loss of biodiversity and conservation within the framework of sustainable management. The advances in sourcing plant products for new chemical entities as lead compounds in pharmaceuticals are reviewed in this paper. Major aspects of therapeutics, such as anticancer, antibacterial, antitumour, antimicrobials, and the use of NAPRALERT Natural Product Database are also presented. Bulk packaging and labelling of pharmaceutical plant products, and loss of biodiversity are highlighted as key factors in sustainable drug development from plants