Antimalarial Potential of Synthetic Geraniol and Nerol Analogs

Journal of Chemistry

卷:2026

Research Article

Maurício Mazzine Filho¹  Isaac Agnelo Da Silva Sobreiro²  Gabriel Dos Santos E. Silva²  Carlos Alberto De Araújo Silva²  Leonardo Vinícius Nogueira Lima²  Arthur Vicentini Furtado²  João Vitor Da Silveira²  Marcus Vinícius Nora De Souza³  Matheus Felipe Silva Santos¹  Gabriela Oliveira Castro¹  Manoel Aparecido Peres¹  Marcell Crispim⁴  Alejandro Miguel Katzin¹  Mauricio Frota Saraiva²  Ignasi Bofill Verdaguer¹ 

[1] Department of Parasitology, Institute of Biomedical Sciences of the University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil

[2] Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Institute of Drug Technology of FarManguinhos, Rio De Janeiro, 21041-250, Brazil, fiocruz.br

[3] LaSIMBio-Laboratory of Synthesis of Bioactive Molecules, Institute of Physics and Chemistry, Federal University of Itajubá, Itajubá, Minas Gerais, Brazil, unifei.edu.br

[4] Department of Clinical and Toxicological Analyses, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Federal University of Alfenas, Alfenas, Minas Gerais, Brazil, unifal-mg.edu.br

关键词: acyclic monoterpene analogs;    geraniol;    isoprenoids;    nerol;    Plasmodium falciparum;    terpenes;   

DOI  :  10.1155/joch/8576949

 received in 2025-10-08, accepted in 2026-04-28,  发布年份 2026

来源: Hindawi Publishing Corporation

【 摘 要 】

Drug resistance is a major threat to malaria control; therefore, new drugs are required to combat this parasitosis. To accelerate drug development, the exploration of natural compounds or the repositioning of drugs already employed for other diseases is of particular interest. Previous studies have found that diverse plant terpenes arrest Plasmodium parasites in both in vitro and in vivo models. However, most terpenes possess low toxicity toward the parasite and/or face pharmacokinetic issues. Here, we report several new acyclic monoterpene analogs with potent antiplasmodial activity in vitro (half-maximal inhibitory concentration at the low micromolar scale) against P. falciparum parasites. Furthermore, in vitro studies, using hepatocellular carcinoma cells (HepG2) demonstrated remarkable selectivity for P. falciparum, while bioinformatic approaches revealed that these compounds possess acceptable pharmacological properties. All these results suggest that acyclic monoterpene analogs could serve as a promising starting point for the development of synthetic terpenes as antimalarial drugs.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
Copyright © 2026 Maurício Mazzine Filho et al. Journal of Chemistry published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. 2026

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