Abstract
Infectious diseases are a worldwide public health problem. There is growing research in the field of new plant-based drugs for treating such diseases. Our objective was to perform a systematic literature review to evaluate the anti-infectious activity (antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral and antiparasitic) attributed to plants of the Tabebuia (Bignoniaceae) genus. We conducted a search for the period of 2000-2013 in ScienceDirect, Scopus, PubMed, Embase, Napralert and SciELO databases using the following MeSH terms: Tabebuia, biological activity, bioactive compounds, chemical compounds, diseases, traditional medicine, tropical infections, infections and treatment. We found ethnobotanical and experimental (in vitro) evidence supporting the use of Tabebuia species for treating infectious diseases. In addition, the compounds responsible for their antimicrobial activity have been isolated, and their structures have been elucidated, emphasizing among them naphthoquinones such as lapachol. Natural products isolated from Tabebuia plants may be an alternative for developing new anti-infectious agents.
Highlights
Plants produce large amounts of compounds known as phytochemicals, and each plant synthesizes a vast variety of these phytochemicals
It was found that the (-)-5-hydroxy-2-(1’-hydoxyethyl) naphtho[2,3-b]furan-4,9-dione (3) and its positional isomer (-)-8-hydroxy-2-(1’-hydoxyethyl) naphtho[2,3-b]furan-4,9-dione (4) had a strong activity against Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus subtilis, with minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) varying between 0.78 and 6.25 μg/mL (0.78 and 6.25 mg/L) (Yamashita et al 2009); these naphthoquinones are found in the inner bark of Tabebuia avellanedae (Wagner et al 1989)
The results revealed that the methanol extract from Tabebuia avellanedae exerts an inhibitory activity against Candida albicans, Candida dubliniensis, Candida parapsilosis, Candida tropicalis, Candida guilliermondii, Candida utilis, Candida krusei, Candida lusitaniae, Candida glabrata and Candida rugosa, with MIC values in the range of 0.06 to 0.0001 mg/mL (60 to 0.1 mg/L)
Summary
Plants produce large amounts of compounds known as phytochemicals, and each plant synthesizes a vast variety of these phytochemicals. Phytochemicals have been used as treatments to cure various diseases. Multiple pharmaceutical agents contain natural compounds, including drugs that contain variations of these natural molecules (Kinghorn 2001). Bioactivity in genus Tabebuia the base or as precursors for developing several synthetic or semi-synthetic drugs (Wessjohann 2000, Newman et al 2003). Studies by Newman clearly demonstrate that 61% of all new small-molecule drugs introduced during 19812002 have been produced using natural products (7% natural products, 27% natural-product derivatives, 5% synthetic derivatives from natural products and 23% synthetic compounds designed from a natural product). Natural products are an innovative source of therapeutic agents for treating infectious diseases, and other ailments (Altmann 2001)
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