The Trypanocidal Activity of Naphthoquinones: A Review

Molecules

Antônio Ventura Pinto¹ 

[1] ¹Núcleo de Pesquisas em Produtos Naturais, Centro de Ciências da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, 21944-970, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil ²Laboratório de Biologia Celular, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, 21045-900, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil

关键词: naphthoquinones;    β-lapachone;    chagas disease;    Trypanosoma cruzi;   

DOI  :  10.3390/molecules14114570

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

Naphthoquinones are compounds present in several families of higher plants. Their molecular structures confer redox properties, and they are involved in multiple biological oxidative processes. In folk medicine, especially among Indian populations, plants containing naphthoquinones have been employed for the treatment of various diseases. The biological redox cycle of quinones can be initiated by one electron reduction leading to the formation of semiquinones, unstable intermediates that react rapidly with molecular oxygen, generating free radicals. Alternatively, the reduction by two electrons, mediated by DT-diphorase, leads to the formation of hydroquinone. Lapachol, α-lapachone and β-lapachone, which are isolated from the heartwood of trees of the Bignoniaceae family, are examples of bioactive naphthoquinones. In this review, we will discuss studies investigating the activity of these natural products and their derivatives in the context of the search for alternative drugs for Chagas disease, caused by Trypanosoma cruzi, a neglected illness that is endemic in Latin America.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.