Mining Sudanese Medicinal Plants for Natural Compounds against Malaria and Neglected Tropical Diseases

Tropical parasitic diseases such as malaria, human African trypanosomiasis, Chagas disease, mycetoma, and leishmaniasis affect more than a billion people worldwide and have devastating consequences. There is no vaccine for any of these diseases, and the current drugs are problematic given their serious adverse effects and the emergence of drug-resistant parasites. Thus, there is an urgent need for the development of new, efficacious, safe, and cost-effective drugs.
Natural products have in many instances provided new leads to combat neglected tropical diseases. The aim of this work was to systemically evaluate Sudanese medicinal plants for their antiparasitic activity along with their cytotoxicity profile; followed by phytochemical investigation to identify bioactive compounds. A library of 235 plant extracts was prepared from over 60 plants used in Sudanese traditional medicine, and it was assessed for antiprotozoal activity against Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense, Trypanosoma cruzi, Leishmania donovani, and Plasmodium falciparum.