Title:Recent Advances in the Development of Chemotherapeutic Agents for Malaria
Volume: 21
Issue: 12
Author(s): Neelima Shrivastava, Shah A. Khan*, Saif Ahmad, Khalid Al-Balushi and Asif Husain*
Affiliation:
- College of Pharmacy, National University of Science and Technology, P.O. Box 620, Postal code 130, Muscat,Oman
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, School of Pharmaceutical Education and Research, Jamia Hamdard, New Delhi-110062,India
Keywords:
Antiplasmodium, artemisinin, malaria, plasmodium falciparum, quinolone.
Abstract:
Introduction: Malaria, a devastating infectious parasitic disease, has been recognized by
the World Health Organization (WHO) as a major public health problem worldwide. It is one of the
leading causes of morbidity and mortality in developing countries. There are a number of antimalarial
drugs available in the market to combat this deadly disease. The situation is further worsened due to
the emergence of resistant strains of Plasmodium falciparum, which warrants the search for novel antimalarial
drugs capable of acting at multiple targets to expand the current antimalarial drug arsenal
for better therapeutic outcome.
Objectives: This review aimed to provide the reader with the recent advances and progress made in
the development of chemotherapeutic agents for malaria.
Methods: Literature review data on the chemistry and antimalarial activity of natural and synthetic
heterocyclic compounds published in the last ten years were compiled by referring to various peerreviewed
journal websites and medical search engines.
Results and Discussion: This review covers the recent advances and progress made in the treatment
strategies, patent granted, synthetic approaches, mechanism of action with more emphasis on a Structure-
activity Relationship (SAR) of potential chemotherapeutic agents as antimalarial agents which
could pave the way for the development of more effective and potent antimalarial agents. This review
might interest fellow researchers working on the development of novel antimalarial drug candidates
with better therapeutic index.
Conclusion: Based on the literature covered in the current review article and seeing the recent trends,
authors are of the opinion that the multi-target conjugated hybrid approach is the best strategy to discover
and develop effective antimalarial agents.