Title:State-of-the-art Review on the Antiparasitic Activity of Benzimidazolebased
Derivatives: Facing Malaria, Leishmaniasis, and Trypanosomiasis
Volume: 31
Issue: 15
Author(s): Valeria Francesconi, Marco Rizzo, Silvia Schenone, Anna Carbone*Michele Tonelli*
Affiliation:
- Department of Pharmacy, University of Genoa, Viale Benedetto XV, 3, Genoa, 16132, Italy
- Department of Pharmacy, University of Genoa, Viale Benedetto XV, 3, Genoa, 16132, Italy
Keywords:
Protozoan infections, antiprotozoal agents, benzimidazole-based derivatives, antimalarial compounds, antileishmanial compounds, antitrypanosomal compounds.
Abstract: Protozoan parasites represent a significant risk for public health worldwide, afflicting
particularly people in more vulnerable categories and cause large morbidity and
heavy economic impact. Traditional drugs are limited by their toxicity, low efficacy, route
of administration, and cost, reflecting their low priority in global health management.
Moreover, the drug resistance phenomenon threatens the positive therapy outcome. This
scenario claims the need of addressing more adequate therapies. Among the diverse strategies
implemented, the medicinal chemistry efforts have also focused their attention on
the benzimidazole nucleus as a promising pharmacophore for the generation of new drug
candidates. Hence, the present review provides a global insight into recent progress in
benzimidazole-based derivatives drug discovery against important protozoan diseases,
such as malaria, leishmaniasis and trypanosomiasis. The more relevant chemical features
and structure-activity relationship studies of these molecules are discussed for the purpose
of paving the way towards the development of more viable drugs for the treatment of these
parasitic infections.
