Promising natural products for the treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis: A review of in vitro and in vivo studies.

Although there are available treatments for cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL), the drugs used are far from ideal, toxic, and costly, in addition to the challenge faced by the development of resistance. Plants have been used as a source of natural compounds with antileishmanial action. However, few have reached the market and become phytomedicines with registration in regulatory agencies. Difficulties related to the extraction, purification, chemical identification, efficacy, safety, and production in sufficient quantity for clinical studies, hinder the emergence of new effective phytomedicines against leishmaniasis. Despite the difficulties reported, the major research centers in the world see that natural products are a trend concerning the treatment of leishmaniasis. The present work consists of a literature review of articles with in vivo studies, covering the period from January 2011 to December 2022, providing an overview of promising natural products for CL treatment. The papers show encouraging antileishmanial action of natural compounds with reduced parasite load and lesion size in animal models, suggesting new strategies for the treatment of the disease. The results reported in this review show advances in using natural products as safe and effective formulations, which can stimulate clinical studies to establish clinical therapy. In conclusion, the information in this review article serves as a preliminary basis for establishing a therapeutic protocol for future clinical trials that can validate the safety and efficacy of natural compounds, providing the development of affordable and safe phytomedicines for the treatment of CL.

Nanotechnology Promoting the Development of Products from the Biodiversity of the Asteraceae Family.

Biodiversity is a hallmark of the Asteraceae family. Several species are known for their pharmacological potential. The search for new substances has permeated the chemistry of natural products for years. However, the development of a final product is still a challenge. Plant extracts have physicochemical characteristics that sometimes hinder administration, requiring a formulation. In this context, nanotechnology emerges as a tool to improve the pharmacokinetic parameters of several pharmacologically active substances. Nanoemulsions, liposomes, and nanoparticles are used to carry the active ingredients and thus improve therapeutic action, especially for substances with solubility and absorption problems. This paper aimed at compiling all the studies that used nanotechnology to develop formulations from species of the Asteraceae family from 2010 to 2021 in a literature review. The search showed that nanoemulsions are the most developed formulation associated with essential oils. The use of nanotechnology promoted an improvement in the pharmacokinetic parameters of active substances.