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Pharmaceuticals
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Fighting Tropical Neglected Diseases with Natural Products: New Approaches Against...
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Fighting Tropical Neglected Diseases with Natural Products: New Approaches Against Ancient Diseases

A special issue of Pharmaceuticals (ISSN 1424-8247).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 23 September 2025 | Viewed by 802

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Igor Rodrigues

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Departamento de Produtos Naturais e Alimentos, Faculdade de Farmácia, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro 21941-902, Brazil
Interests: natural products; antileishmanial activity; polyphenols; oxidative stress; polyamine pathway; trypanothione pathway
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. André Luis Souza dos Santos

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. Laboratório de Estudos Avançados de Microrganismos Emergentes e Resistentes, Departamento de Microbiologia Geral, Instituto de Microbiologia Paulo de Góes, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro 21941-902, Brazil
2. Rede Micologia RJ – Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (FAPERJ), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Interests: chemotherapy; antifungal resistance; biochemistry; cell biology; enzymes; biofilm; virulence
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Dirlei Nico

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Departamento de Microbiologia Geral, Instituto de Microbiologia Paulo de Góes, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro 21941-902, Brazil
Interests: leishmania; leishmaniasis; nanoparticles; natural products; magnetotactic bacteria; treatment
Dr. Ana Claudia Fernandes Amaral

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Laboratório de Produtos Naturais e Derivados, Farmanguinhos/Fiocruz, Rio de Janeiro 21041-250, Brazil
Interests: natural products; chromatographic analysis; mass spectrometry analysis; plant secondary metabolites; tropical neglected diseases; antiprotozoal agents

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Tropical neglected diseases (NTDs) affect over a billion people worldwide, especially in low-income regions with limited access to healthcare. Diseases like leishmaniasis, Chagas disease, and schistosomiasis cause significant suffering and mortality, trapping communities in poverty. Current treatments are often outdated, toxic, and increasingly ineffective due to drug resistance. There is an urgent need for new strategies, particularly those focused on discovering novel drug candidates. This Special Issue welcomes innovative approaches based on natural products—such as fully characterized extracts, essential oils, enriched fractions, and isolated compounds—including high-throughput screening, combined drug therapy, drug delivery systems, structure–activity relationship studies, and the identification of potential biochemical targets and mechanisms of action elucidation. Addressing NTDs through these efforts is crucial for improving global health, reducing the disease burden, and fostering economic development in affected regions.

Dr. Igor Rodrigues
Prof. Dr. André Luis Souza dos Santos
Dr. Dirlei Nico
Dr. Ana Claudia Fernandes Amaral
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Pharmaceuticals is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • plant extracts
  • natural compounds
  • neglected diseases
  • drug resistance
  • natural product-based formulations
  • antiparasitic drugs
  • enzyme inhibition

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

31 pages, 18369 KiB  
Article
Identification and Characterization of Antiviral Activity of Synthetic Compounds Against Mayaro Virus
by Ana Paula Andreolla, Andrea Cristine Koishi, Alessandra Abel Borges, Larissa Albuquerque de Oliveira, Viviane Guedes de Oliveira, Nerilson Marques Lima, Eloah Pereira Ávila, Pedro Pôssa de Castro, Giovanni Wilson Amarante, Mauro Vieira de Almeida, Juliano Bordignon and Claudia Nunes Duarte dos Santos
Pharmaceuticals 2025, 18(5), 717; https://doi.org/10.3390/ph18050717 - 13 May 2025
Abstract
Background/objectives: In Brazil, the co-circulation of arboviruses—such as dengue, Zika, yellow fever, and Chikungunya viruses—creates a complex epidemiological landscape, drawing attention from health authorities due to high morbidity and mortality rates. Also present in this context is the Mayaro virus (MAYV), a neglected [...] Read more.
Background/objectives: In Brazil, the co-circulation of arboviruses—such as dengue, Zika, yellow fever, and Chikungunya viruses—creates a complex epidemiological landscape, drawing attention from health authorities due to high morbidity and mortality rates. Also present in this context is the Mayaro virus (MAYV), a neglected arbovirus, which can also cause severe syndromes and has been expanding beyond its usual endemic areas in northern and central-western Brazil. Epidemiological surveillance measures remain limited, and there are no effective prophylactic strategies or antiviral treatments for this neglected arbovirus. In this study, we evaluated the antiviral activity of commercial and synthetic compounds against MAYV using an image high-throughput screening (iHTS) system. Methods: A total of 52 compounds from an FDA-approved commercial library (Tocriscreen) and 50 other compounds were tested. Results: Seven compounds showed anti-MAYV activity and were non-toxic for the following cell lines: Naringenin, LLA9A, chrysin, and its ester C6. Post-infection treatments with these selected compounds significantly decreased the percentage of infected cells and the release of infectious viral particles in the supernatant. Additionally, anti-MAYV activity of these four selected hits was confirmed using several human cell lines and two different MAYV genotypes. Conclusions: Our results indicate that the iHTS platform is effective for screening anti-MAYV drugs and that four promising compounds can efficiently inhibit MAYV replication in human cell lines. Although in vivo studies are still required to confirm the efficacy of the selected hits, our findings provide a starting point for developing a potential treatment for MAYV infections. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fighting Tropical Neglected Diseases with Natural Products: New Approaches Against Ancient Diseases)
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15 pages, 1194 KiB  
Article
In Vitro Evidence for the Efficacy of Manuka Honey and Its Components Against the Major Human Pathogenic Sporothrix Species
by Andrea Reis Bernardes-Engemann, Fernando Almeida-Silva, Levi G. Cleare, Jefferson D. da Cruz, Jefferson Rocha de A. Silva, Walter Sotto M. Fernandes Neto, Rosely Maria Zancopé-Oliveira, Ana Claudia Fernandes Amaral, Joshua D. Nosanchuk and Rodrigo Almeida-Paes
Pharmaceuticals 2025, 18(4), 534; https://doi.org/10.3390/ph18040534 - 6 Apr 2025
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Abstract
Background/Objectives: While various clinical manifestations occur in sporotrichosis, cutaneous forms predominate. The recommended sporotrichosis treatment is itraconazole, an antifungal with certain restrictions. In recent years, the observation of reduced treatment effectiveness in some patients has arisen, possibly due to Sporothrix spp. resistance [...] Read more.
Background/Objectives: While various clinical manifestations occur in sporotrichosis, cutaneous forms predominate. The recommended sporotrichosis treatment is itraconazole, an antifungal with certain restrictions. In recent years, the observation of reduced treatment effectiveness in some patients has arisen, possibly due to Sporothrix spp. resistance mechanisms. Consequently, there is a growing need for alternative therapeutic approaches. This study investigates the antifungal activity of manuka honey (MH) against pathogenic species of the genus Sporothrix. Methods: In this study, we assessed MH antifungal efficacy across concentrations ranging from 5% to 40% against 26 Sporothrix spp. isolates. In addition, its components were evaluated through chromatography and other in vitro techniques. Results: Minimum inhibitory concentrations of MH were found to be 15–40%, 10–15%, and 5–10% for Sporothrix brasiliensis, Sporothrix schenckii, and Sporothrix globosa, respectively. Purified methylglyoxal did not hinder Sporothrix growth. The MH antifungal potential was compromised through treatment with catalase or filtration through a 0.22 µm cellulose membrane. Chromatographic analysis of the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) present in MH identified 40 VOCs, including carbonyl compounds, alcohols, esters, aromatic hydrocarbons, heterocyclic compounds, terpenoids, and carboxylic acids. Additionally, two phenolic compounds were identified as potential markers for the authentication of MH, along with a disaccharide that may contribute to its antifungal activity. Conclusions: MH has demonstrated biological activity against the most significant Sporothrix species with pathogenic impact on humans. This suggests its consideration in future research endeavors focused on novel topical treatments for cutaneous sporotrichosis in both human and animal subjects. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fighting Tropical Neglected Diseases with Natural Products: New Approaches Against Ancient Diseases)
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