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International Journal of Medical... 2020Webb ex Prantl has been used in traditional medicine globally. It has been shown that , together with many other bioactive compounds, can modulate the biological... (Review)
Review
Webb ex Prantl has been used in traditional medicine globally. It has been shown that , together with many other bioactive compounds, can modulate the biological functions of various genes. We have viewed the clinical benefits and mechanisms of action of associated with its current uses and outlined potential further applications. There are many studies documenting its numerous clinical effects in cancer, respiratory, gastrointestinal, and cardiac systems. Further, has been shown to exhibit anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidative, and anthelmintic activities. The clinical studies did not indicate any significant adverse effects of , demonstrating that it is a safe and effective herbal medicine. However, more clinical studies demonstrating the therapeutic effects of are still warranted.
Topics: Anthelmintics; Anti-Inflammatory Agents; Antioxidants; Brassicaceae; Gastrointestinal Diseases; Heart Diseases; Humans; Medicine, Traditional; Neoplasms; Phytotherapy; Plant Extracts; Respiratory Tract Diseases; Seeds
PubMed: 32922177
DOI: 10.7150/ijms.47357 -
Biotechnology Advances 2022Diseases caused by parasitic helminths (worms) represent a major global health burden in both humans and animals. As vaccines against helminths have yet to achieve a... (Review)
Review
Diseases caused by parasitic helminths (worms) represent a major global health burden in both humans and animals. As vaccines against helminths have yet to achieve a prominent role in worm control, anthelmintics are the primary tool to limit production losses and disease due to helminth infections in both human and veterinary medicine. However, the excessive and often uncontrolled use of these drugs has led to widespread anthelmintic resistance in these worms - particularly of animals - to almost all commercially available anthelmintics, severely compromising control. Thus, there is a major demand for the discovery and development of new classes of anthelmintics. A key component of the discovery process is screening libraries of compounds for anthelmintic activity. Given the need for, and major interest by the pharmaceutical industry in, novel anthelmintics, we considered it both timely and appropriate to re-examine screening methods used for anthelmintic discovery. Thus, we reviewed current literature (1977-2021) on whole-worm phenotypic screening assays developed and used in academic laboratories, with a particular focus on those employed to discover nematocides. This review reveals that at least 50 distinct phenotypic assays with low-, medium- or high-throughput capacity were developed over this period, with more recently developed methods being quantitative, semi-automated and higher throughput. The main features assessed or measured in these assays include worm motility, growth/development, morphological changes, viability/lethality, pharyngeal pumping, egg hatching, larval migration, CO- or ATP-production and/or enzyme activity. Recent progress in assay development has led to the routine application of practical, cost-effective, medium- to high-throughput whole-worm screening assays in academic or public-private partnership (PPP) contexts, and major potential for novel high-content, high-throughput platforms in the near future. Complementing this progress are major advances in the molecular data sciences, computational biology and informatics, which are likely to further enable and accelerate anthelmintic drug discovery and development.
Topics: Animals; Anthelmintics; Anti-Infective Agents; Drug Discovery; Drug Resistance; High-Throughput Screening Assays
PubMed: 35271946
DOI: 10.1016/j.biotechadv.2022.107937 -
Environmental Science and Pollution... Dec 2023Widespread and improper use of various anthelmintics, genetic, and epidemiological factors has resulted in anthelmintic-resistant (AR) helminth populations in livestock.... (Review)
Review
Widespread and improper use of various anthelmintics, genetic, and epidemiological factors has resulted in anthelmintic-resistant (AR) helminth populations in livestock. This is currently quite common globally in different livestock animals including sheep, goats, and cattle to gastrointestinal nematode (GIN) infections. Therefore, the mechanisms underlying AR in parasitic worm species have been the subject of ample research to tackle this challenge. Current and emerging technologies in the disciplines of genomics, transcriptomics, metabolomics, and proteomics in livestock species have advanced the understanding of the intricate molecular AR mechanisms in many major parasites. The technologies have improved the identification of possible biomarkers of resistant parasites, the ability to find actual causative genes, regulatory networks, and pathways of parasites governing the AR development including the dynamics of helminth infection and host-parasite infections. In this review, various "omics"-driven technologies including genome scan, candidate gene, quantitative trait loci, transcriptomic, proteomic, and metabolomic approaches have been described to understand AR of parasites of veterinary importance. Also, challenges and future prospects of these "omics" approaches are also discussed.
Topics: Animals; Cattle; Sheep; Livestock; Proteomics; Nematoda; Nematode Infections; Anthelmintics; Goats; Gastrointestinal Diseases
PubMed: 38015400
DOI: 10.1007/s11356-023-31045-y -
International Journal of Molecular... Mar 2023Despite recent advances in treatment approaches, cancer is still one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Restoration of tumor immune surveillance represents a... (Review)
Review
Despite recent advances in treatment approaches, cancer is still one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Restoration of tumor immune surveillance represents a valid strategy to overcome the acquired resistance and cytotoxicity of conventional therapies in oncology and immunotherapeutic drugs, such as immune checkpoint inhibitors and immunogenic cell death inducers, and has substantially progressed the treatment of several malignancies and improved the clinical management of advanced disease. Unfortunately, because of tumor-intrinsic and/or -extrinsic mechanisms for escaping immune surveillance, only a fraction of patients clinically respond to and benefit from cancer immunotherapy. Accumulating evidence derived from studies of drug repositioning, that is, the strategy to identify new uses for approved or investigational drugs that are outside the scope of the original medical indication, has suggested that some anthelmintic drugs, in addition to their antineoplastic effects, exert important immunomodulatory actions on specific subsets of immune cell and related pathways. In this review, we report and discuss current knowledge on the impact of anthelmintic drugs on host immunity and their potential implication in cancer immunotherapy.
Topics: Humans; Programmed Cell Death 1 Receptor; Neoplasms; Immunologic Factors; Antineoplastic Agents; Anthelmintics; Immunotherapy; B7-H1 Antigen
PubMed: 37047419
DOI: 10.3390/ijms24076446 -
Equine Veterinary Journal May 2024
Topics: Animals; Anthelmintics; Anti-Infective Agents; Drug Resistance
PubMed: 38453425
DOI: 10.1111/evj.14072 -
Journal of Ethnopharmacology Jan 2021The leaf of Sarcocephalus latifolius is known to be used traditionally by the Fulanis in Nigeria to deworm animals. As helminthosis remains a major constraint to...
ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE
The leaf of Sarcocephalus latifolius is known to be used traditionally by the Fulanis in Nigeria to deworm animals. As helminthosis remains a major constraint to profitable livestock production worldwide, a precarious situation aggravated by the advent of resistant parasites, the discovery of new anthelmintics is a priority, necessitating exploration of medicinal plants for their anthelmintic principles.
AIM OF THE STUDY
To identify and characterise compounds with anthelmintic activity from the leaf of Sarcocephalus latifolius.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Powdered S. latifolius leaves were extracted by successive maceration with n-hexane, chloroform and acetone. The dried extracts were evaluated for anthelmintic activity against Haemonchus placei adult worms, and the most active extract was subjected to bioassay-guided chromatographic separations. The isolated compounds were evaluated for cytotoxicity against the mammalian HeLa and MC3T3-E1 cell lines, using alamar blue and CellTitreGlo to quantify cell viability. LC values were computed from the in vitro anthelmintic activity data by fitting to a non-linear regression equation (variable slope). Isolated compounds were characterized using spectroscopic and mass spectrometric analyses.
RESULTS
Anthelmintic activity LC values for n-hexane, chloroform and acetone extracts were 47.85, 35.76 and 5.72 (mg/mL), respectively. Chromatographic separation of acetone extract afforded two bioactive epimers, identified as vincosamide (LC 14.7 mg/mL) and strictosamide (LC 12.8 mg/mL). Cytotoxicity evaluation showed that, below 200 μg/mL (400 μM), neither compound was toxic to the HeLa or MC3T3-E1 cells.
CONCLUSION
Vincosamide and strictosamide could serve as novel scaffolds for the development of anthelmintic derivatives with improved potency and helminth selectivity.
Topics: 3T3 Cells; Animals; Anthelmintics; Haemonchus; HeLa Cells; Humans; Indole Alkaloids; Lethal Dose 50; Mice; Plant Extracts; Plant Leaves; Rubiaceae; Vinca Alkaloids
PubMed: 32697959
DOI: 10.1016/j.jep.2020.113142 -
Acta Tropica Jan 2022A chronic helminth infection can alter host immune response and affect malaria infection. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to find the impact of... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis
A chronic helminth infection can alter host immune response and affect malaria infection. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to find the impact of anthelmintic treatment on malaria prevalence, incidence, and parasitemia. Nine and 12 electronic databases were searched on 28 July 2015 and 26 June 2020 for relevant studies. We performed meta-analysis for malaria prevalence, incidence, parasitemia, and a qualitative synthesis for other effects of anthelmintic treatment. Seventeen relevant papers were included. There was no association between anthelmintic treatment and malaria prevalence or change of parasitemia at the end of follow up period (pooled OR 0.93, 95% CI: 0.62, 1.38, p-value=0.71 and SMD -0.08, 95%CI: -0.24, 0.07, p-value=0.30 respectively) or at any defined time points in analysis. Pooled analysis of three studies demonstrated no association between malaria incidence and anthelmintic treatment (rate ratio 0.93, 95%CI: 0.80, 1.08, p-value=0.33). Our study encourages anthelmintic treatment in countries with high burden of co-infections as anthelmintic treatment is not associated with change in malaria prevalence, incidence, or parasitemia.
Topics: Anthelmintics; Humans; Incidence; Malaria; Parasitemia; Prevalence
PubMed: 34687649
DOI: 10.1016/j.actatropica.2021.106213 -
Trends in Parasitology Mar 2021Anthelmintic drugs are the major line of defense against parasitic nematode infections, but the arsenal is limited and resistance threatens sustained efficacy of the... (Review)
Review
Anthelmintic drugs are the major line of defense against parasitic nematode infections, but the arsenal is limited and resistance threatens sustained efficacy of the available drugs. Discoveries of the modes of action of these drugs and mechanisms of resistance have predominantly come from studies of a related nonparasitic nematode species, Caenorhabditis elegans, and the parasitic nematode Haemonchus contortus. Here, we discuss how our understanding of anthelmintic resistance and modes of action came from the interplay of results from each of these species. We argue that this 'cycle of discovery', where results from one species inform the design of experiments in the other, can use the complementary strengths of both to understand anthelmintic modes of action and mechanisms of resistance.
Topics: Animals; Anthelmintics; Caenorhabditis elegans; Drug Resistance; Haemonchus; Nematoda; Nematode Infections; Research
PubMed: 33317926
DOI: 10.1016/j.pt.2020.11.008 -
Veterinary Parasitology Dec 2022To review anthelmintic resistance globally in goats including the effect of location, mode of application and dosage on anthelmintic efficacy (assessed using Faecal Egg... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis
OBJECTIVE
To review anthelmintic resistance globally in goats including the effect of location, mode of application and dosage on anthelmintic efficacy (assessed using Faecal Egg Count Reduction). Specifically, resistance of the three major classes of anthelmintics - Benzimidazole and Probenzimidazole (BP); Anti-cholinergics (AC); and Macrocyclic Lactone (ML) was investigated.
DESIGN/PROCEDURE
A PRISMA Framework was followed in order to conduct a thorough assessment of the literature on anthelmintic resistance in goats. A single factor ANOVA test was conducted in Microsoft Excel (2009) to test for the significance of the effect of location, mode of application and dosage on resistance. Three meta-analyses were also conducted in Microsoft Excel (2009) to quantify global resistance levels of the three major anthelmintic classes.
RESULTS
Of the 461 publications screened, 105 studies were included in the systematic review and 101 studies were included in the meta-analyses. Anthelmintic class as well as anthelmintic active principle selection in the BP and ML classes did have a significant effect on resistance (p < 0.05). Combination treatment groups had a lower amount of resistance than groups where anthelmintic classes were used alone. Mode of application of the treatment had a significant effect on resistance (p < 0.05), whilst the correlation of dosage with efficacy was low (r < 0.1). The effect of location (by continent) also had a significant influence on resistance for the AC anthelmintic class (p < 0.05). All GIN species assessed with the exception of Chabertia spp. exhibited anthelmintic resistance.
CONCLUSIONS
Anthelmintic resistance is a substantial global issue in the goat industry. More research needs to be conducted into anthelmintic resistance in regard to effective ways to use anthelmintics and minimise resistance.
Topics: Animals; Goats; Anthelmintics; Anti-Infective Agents; Chlorhexidine; Strongyloidea; Lactones
PubMed: 36395622
DOI: 10.1016/j.vetpar.2022.109809 -
Expert Opinion on Drug Delivery Apr 2022Infections caused by parasitic flatworms impose a considerable worldwide health burden. Recently, World Health Organization launched its roadmap for neglected diseases... (Review)
Review
INTRODUCTION
Infections caused by parasitic flatworms impose a considerable worldwide health burden. Recently, World Health Organization launched its roadmap for neglected diseases for the period 2021 to 2030 and oral treatment with praziquantel (PZQ) in tablet form is the main drug therapy for combating these diseases, but its use is limited by many drawbacks, including the high therapeutic dose due to the drug's low solubility and bioavailability. Among the strategies to improve PZQ performance, the use of drug nanocarriers has been cited as an interesting approach to overcome these pharmacological issues.
AREAS COVERED
This review focuses on the various types of nanomaterials (polymeric, lipidic, inorganic nanoparticles, and nanocrystals) which have been recently used to improve PZQ therapy. In addition, recent advances in PZQ nanoformulations, developed to overcome the barriers of the conventional drug are described.
EXPERT OPINION
Considering the poor rate of discovery in the anthelmintic segment observed in recent decades, the effective management of existing drugs has become essential. The application of new strategies based on nanotechnology can extend the useful life of PZQ in new and more effective formulations. Pharmaceutical nanotechnology can solve the pharmacokinetic challenges characteristic of PZQ and improve its solubility and bioavailability.
Topics: Anthelmintics; Biological Availability; Helminthiasis; Humans; Praziquantel; Solubility
PubMed: 35264036
DOI: 10.1080/17425247.2022.2051477