Flavonoids in the treatment of Leishmania amazonensis: a review of efficacy and mechanisms
Leishmaniasis is caused by protozoan parasites of the genus Leishmania. In recent years, natural compounds have attracted significant interest due to their potential efficacy and lower toxicity compared to synthetic chemical compounds. This review analyzed studies retrieved from the PubMed and Googl...
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2025-08-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Pharmacology |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphar.2025.1642005/full |
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| author | Vinicius Lopes Lessa Vinicius Lopes Lessa Guilherme Drescher Gustavo Gonçalves João Carlos Baptista Lopes Rafael Felipe da Costa Vieira Rafael Felipe da Costa Vieira Fabiano Borges Figueiredo |
| author_facet | Vinicius Lopes Lessa Vinicius Lopes Lessa Guilherme Drescher Gustavo Gonçalves João Carlos Baptista Lopes Rafael Felipe da Costa Vieira Rafael Felipe da Costa Vieira Fabiano Borges Figueiredo |
| author_sort | Vinicius Lopes Lessa |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Leishmaniasis is caused by protozoan parasites of the genus Leishmania. In recent years, natural compounds have attracted significant interest due to their potential efficacy and lower toxicity compared to synthetic chemical compounds. This review analyzed studies retrieved from the PubMed and Google Scholar databases, focusing on the use of flavonoids against Leishmania amazonensis. Only studies testing flavonoids with known activity against the parasite were included and categorized according to their leishmanicidal efficacy. Based on the criteria established to identify the most comprehensive studies, 52 were included in the analysis. Of these, three studies met at least 13 of the evaluation parameters (70%) and were considered the most complete. Analysis of IC50 values reported in these articles revealed the activity of 69 flavonoids. Among the assays on amastigote forms, 33 reported high activity, and six reported moderate activity. For assays on promastigote forms, 32 experiments reported high activity, 16 showed moderate activity, and two demonstrated weak activity. Of the flavonoids tested, morelloflavone-4‴O-β-D-glycosyl and pinostrobin showed the highest activity, while naringenin exhibited the weakest activity, specifically against promastigote forms. In the cytotoxicity assays, carajurin and luteolin exhibited the highest selectivity indices reported in the articles. This review emphasizes the importance of studying flavonoids, particularly those extracted from plants and propolis, to advance our understanding and treatment of L. amazonensis infections. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-0c32a93604c64a50a3a80e2b2301465c |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1663-9812 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-08-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Pharmacology |
| spelling | doaj-art-0c32a93604c64a50a3a80e2b2301465c2025-08-20T03:45:12ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Pharmacology1663-98122025-08-011610.3389/fphar.2025.16420051642005Flavonoids in the treatment of Leishmania amazonensis: a review of efficacy and mechanismsVinicius Lopes Lessa0Vinicius Lopes Lessa1Guilherme Drescher2Gustavo Gonçalves3João Carlos Baptista Lopes4Rafael Felipe da Costa Vieira5Rafael Felipe da Costa Vieira6Fabiano Borges Figueiredo7Carlos Chagas Institute, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz), Curitiba, Paraná, BrazilGraduate Program in Veterinary Sciences, Federal University of Paraná, Curitiba, Paraná, BrazilCarlos Chagas Institute, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz), Curitiba, Paraná, BrazilCarlos Chagas Institute, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz), Curitiba, Paraná, BrazilGraduate Nursing Progam, Campos de Andrade University Center, Curitiba, Paraná, BrazilDepartment of Epidemiology and Community Health, College of Health and Human Services, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, NC, United StatesCenter for Computational Intelligence to Predict Health and Environmental Risks (CIPHER), University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, NC, United StatesCarlos Chagas Institute, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz), Curitiba, Paraná, BrazilLeishmaniasis is caused by protozoan parasites of the genus Leishmania. In recent years, natural compounds have attracted significant interest due to their potential efficacy and lower toxicity compared to synthetic chemical compounds. This review analyzed studies retrieved from the PubMed and Google Scholar databases, focusing on the use of flavonoids against Leishmania amazonensis. Only studies testing flavonoids with known activity against the parasite were included and categorized according to their leishmanicidal efficacy. Based on the criteria established to identify the most comprehensive studies, 52 were included in the analysis. Of these, three studies met at least 13 of the evaluation parameters (70%) and were considered the most complete. Analysis of IC50 values reported in these articles revealed the activity of 69 flavonoids. Among the assays on amastigote forms, 33 reported high activity, and six reported moderate activity. For assays on promastigote forms, 32 experiments reported high activity, 16 showed moderate activity, and two demonstrated weak activity. Of the flavonoids tested, morelloflavone-4‴O-β-D-glycosyl and pinostrobin showed the highest activity, while naringenin exhibited the weakest activity, specifically against promastigote forms. In the cytotoxicity assays, carajurin and luteolin exhibited the highest selectivity indices reported in the articles. This review emphasizes the importance of studying flavonoids, particularly those extracted from plants and propolis, to advance our understanding and treatment of L. amazonensis infections.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphar.2025.1642005/fullnatural compoundsflavonoidsLeishmania amazonensisin vitro assaystreatment |
| spellingShingle | Vinicius Lopes Lessa Vinicius Lopes Lessa Guilherme Drescher Gustavo Gonçalves João Carlos Baptista Lopes Rafael Felipe da Costa Vieira Rafael Felipe da Costa Vieira Fabiano Borges Figueiredo Flavonoids in the treatment of Leishmania amazonensis: a review of efficacy and mechanisms Frontiers in Pharmacology natural compounds flavonoids Leishmania amazonensis in vitro assays treatment |
| title | Flavonoids in the treatment of Leishmania amazonensis: a review of efficacy and mechanisms |
| title_full | Flavonoids in the treatment of Leishmania amazonensis: a review of efficacy and mechanisms |
| title_fullStr | Flavonoids in the treatment of Leishmania amazonensis: a review of efficacy and mechanisms |
| title_full_unstemmed | Flavonoids in the treatment of Leishmania amazonensis: a review of efficacy and mechanisms |
| title_short | Flavonoids in the treatment of Leishmania amazonensis: a review of efficacy and mechanisms |
| title_sort | flavonoids in the treatment of leishmania amazonensis a review of efficacy and mechanisms |
| topic | natural compounds flavonoids Leishmania amazonensis in vitro assays treatment |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphar.2025.1642005/full |
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