Leishmaniasis is a parasitic infection that is classified as a neglected tropical disease (NTD). A neglected tropical disease is an illness that impacts the health and well-being of more than one billion people annually in poor and underdeveloped countries. Peoples of the tropic and subtropic regions of Central and South America, Asia, the Middle East, North Africa, and Southern European regions of the world are most at risk. Leishmaniasis, caused by the Leshmania parasite, is one such NTD that is spread to humans through the bite of a sand fly. The most common forms contracted by humans are the cutaneous and visceral form which cause skin sores as well as swelling of the liver and spleen affecting the blood and ultimately leading to death. Conventional treatments often have little to no effect due to increasing drug resistances and second line drugs are highly toxic. Chalcones, natural products with anti-parasitic properties, are the precursor to several biological compounds that can be readily synthesized via an aldol condensation reaction of a benzaldehyde with an acetophenone. After a 24 hour reaction period in an ice bath, the product solution is extracted with DCM to obtain a purified product in moderate to high yields. All products have been characterized by 1H and 13C NMR spectroscopy. These compound derivatives have been shown to have medicinal properties against leishmaniasis and are potentially more potent and less toxic than current treatments. The purpose of our research is to build a drug library of chalcone derivatives with varying side chains that would then be tested for their anti-leishmanial ability .

Natural products to combat leishmaniasis: Chalcone-based anti-parasitics

2019 Spring National Meeting

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