01889nas a2200217   4500000000100000008004100001100002600042700002200068700001400090700001700104700001700121700002200138700001500160700001700175700001400192700003200206700001300238245007000251520133600321022001401657       2016                            d1 aBarros de Alencar MVO1 aCastro E Sousa JM1 aRolim HML1 aMedeiros MGF1 aCerqueira GS1 aCastro Almeida FR1 aCitó AMGL1 aFerreira PMP1 aLopes JAD1 aCarvalho Melo-Cavalcante AA1 aIslam MT00aDiterpenes as lead molecules against neglected tropical diseases.3 a<p>Nowadays, neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) are reported to be present everywhere. Poor and developing areas in the world have received great attention to NTDs. Drug resistance, safety profile, and various challenges stimulate the search for alternative medications. Plant-based drugs are viewed with great interest, as they are believed to be devoid of side effects. Diterpenes, a family of essential oils, have showed attractive biological effects. A systematic review of the literature was carried out to summarize available evidences of diterpenes against NTDs. For this, databases were searched using specific search terms. Among the 2338 collected reports, a total of 181 articles were included in this review. Of them, 148 dealt with investigations using single organisms, and 33 used multiple organisms. No mechanisms of action were reported in the case of 164 reports. A total of 93.92% were related to nonclinical studies, and 4.42% and 1.66% dealt with preclinical and clinical studies, respectively. The review displays that many diterpenes are effective upon Chagas disease, chikungunya, echinococcosis, dengue, leishmaniasis, leprosy, lymphatic filariasis, malaria, schistosomiasis, and tuberculosis. Indeed, diterpenes are amazing drug candidates against NTDs. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley &amp; Sons, Ltd.</p>
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