Abstract
Available antimalarial drugs have been associated with numerous side effects, which include skin rashes and myelo-suppression. Therefore, it is of interest to explore compounds from natural source having drug-like properties without side effect. This study focuses on the screening of compounds from Cannabis sativa against malaria Plasmodium falciparum dihydrofolate reductase for antimalarial properties using Glide (Schrodinger maestro 2018-1). The result showed that phytochemicals from Cannabis sativa binds with a higher affinity and lower free energy than the standard ligand with isovitexin and vitexin having a glide score of -11.485 and -10.601 respectively, sophoroside has a glide score of -9.711 which is lower than the cycloguanil (co-crystallized ligand) having a glide score of -6.908. This result gives new perception to the use of Cannabis sativa as antimicrobial agent.
Highlights
The prevalence of Malaria has been a major cause of mortality in infants and adults globally [1]
Among the species of plasmodium, Plasmodium falciparum is the major cause of mortality and Plasmodium vivax is the mainspring of illness that is associated with malaria, with 2000 cases imported into the UK per year [2]
Two crucial enzymes are being inhibited by antifolates in folate metabolism, which is known as dihydrofolate reductase-thymidinesynthase (DHFR-TS) and dihydropteroate synthase (DHPS)
Summary
The prevalence of Malaria has been a major cause of mortality in infants and adults globally [1]. Among the species of plasmodium, Plasmodium falciparum is the major cause of mortality and Plasmodium vivax is the mainspring of illness that is associated with malaria, with 2000 cases imported into the UK per year [2]. Antifolate inhibitors target one of the essential pathways for the survival of malaria parasite known as the folate metabolism [3]. Two crucial enzymes are being inhibited by antifolates in folate metabolism, which is known as dihydrofolate reductase-thymidinesynthase (DHFR-TS) and dihydropteroate synthase (DHPS). Pyrimethamine, dapsoneproguanil inhibit DHFR and sulfadoxine inhibit DHPS These enzymes are crucially involved in the de-novo biosynthesis of folate, which is needed for the biosynthesis of purines and pyrimidines [2,3]. Its inhibition impedes the synthesis of essential metabolites needed for the production of nucleotides and proteins
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