Ricerc@Sapienza

An Italian certified Neem seed oil was characterized through the color analysis, the HPLC phenolic fingerprint and the preliminary evaluation of the cytotoxicity profile against the human macrophage (THP-1) cell line. Moreover, a wide screening of its enzyme inhibitory profile, antimicrobial activity towards Helicobacter pylori, several Candida spp. and Malassezia furfur strains and antiprotozoal activity against Plasmodium falciparum, Leishmania infantum and Leishmania tropica were performed.

Malaria is the fourth major parasitic infectious disease for humans, causing severe symptoms and life-threatening complications, which, if untreated within 24–48 h may evolve in the fatality. In the past five decades, major initiatives in the treatment and prevention of this devastating disease have been implemented in endemic areas, leading to significant progress and declining trends.

We discovered a series of azole antifungal compounds as effective antiprotozoal agents. They displayed promising inhibitory activities within the micromolar-submicromolar range against P. falciparum, L. donovani, and T. b. rhodesiense. Moreover, most of such compounds showed excellent nanomolar IC50against T. cruzi, showing also very low cytotoxicity. Discussion of structure-activity relationships and biological data for these compounds are provided against the different parasites. To assess the mechanism of action against T.

There is great concern regarding the rapid emergence and spread of drug-resistance in Plasmodium falciparum, the parasite responsible for the most severe form of human malaria. Parasite populations resistant to some or all the currently available antimalarial treatments are present in different world regions. Considering the need for novel and integrated approaches to control malaria, combinations of drugs were tested on P. falciparum. The primary focus was on doxycycline, an antibiotic that specifically targets the apicoplast of the parasite.