Discovery and Development of Therapeutics from Natural Products against Neglected Tropical Diseases draws together research on medicinal agents from natural sources as starting points for the design of drugs against Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs). From the prediction of promising leads and identification of active agents, to the extraction of complex molecules, the book explores novel, economical and efficacious therapeutics for these diseases. It describes current research and the role of natural products, antimalarial compounds from marine natural products and sesquiterpene lactones, natural antileprotic agents, natural products with potential against Leishmaniasis, Trypanosomiasis and Dengue, and more. In addition, Quinoline and Isoquinoline alkaloids for developing new antiprotozoal agents are discussed, alongside anti-trypanosomatid heterocyclic compounds as structures for development. Combining the expertise of specialists from around the world, this volume aims to support and encourage researchers in the investigation of natural sources as starting points for the development of novel, safe and effective agents for use against neglected tropical diseases. - Includes chapters written by active researchers and leading global experts deeply engaged in the research field of natural product chemistry for drug discovery - Draws together cutting-edge research advances in natural product chemistry that are targeted at neglected tropical diseases - Highlights the future potential of natural products as sources of novel medicinal compounds against neglected tropical diseases

Discovery and Development of Antidiabetic Agents from Natural Products brings together global research on the medicinal chemistry of active agents from natural sources for the prevention and treatment of diabetes and associated disorders. From the identification of promising leads, to the extraction and synthesis of bioactive molecules, this book explores a range of important topics to support chemists in the discovery and development of safer, more economical therapeutics that are desperately needed in response to this emerging global epidemic. Beginning with an overview of bioactive chemical compounds from plants with anti-diabetic properties, the book goes on to outline the identification and extraction of anti-diabetic agents and antioxidants from natural sources. It then explores anti-diabetic plants from specific regions before looking more closely at the background, isolation, and synthesis of key therapeutic compounds and their derivatives, including Mangiferin, Resveratrol, natural saponins, and alpha-glucosidase enzyme inhibitors. The book concludes with a consideration of current and potential future applications. Combining the expertise of specialists from around the world, this volume aims to support and encourage medicinal chemists investigating natural sources as starting points for the development of standardized, safe, and effective antidiabetic therapeutics. - Contains chapters written by active researchers and leading global experts who are deeply engaged in the research field of natural product chemistry for drug discovery - Provides comprehensive coverage of cutting-edge research advances in the design of medicinal natural products with potential as preventives and therapeutics for diabetes and related metabolic issues - Presents a practical review of the identification, isolation, and extraction techniques that help support medicinal chemists in the lab

Rare diseases collectively affect millions of Americans of all ages, but developing drugs and medical devices to prevent, diagnose, and treat these conditions is challenging. The Institute of Medicine (IOM) recommends implementing an integrated national strategy to promote rare diseases research and product development.

"The presence, or absence, of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) can be seen as a proxy for poverty and for the success of interventions aimed at reducing poverty. Today, coverage of the public-health interventions recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) against NTDs may be interpreted as a proxy for universal health coverage and shared prosperity - in short, a proxy for coverage against neglect. As the world's focus shifts from development to sustainable development, from poverty eradication to shared prosperity, and from disease-specific goals to universal health coverage, control of NTDs will assume an important role towards the target of achieving universal health coverage, including individual financial risk protection. Success in overcoming NTDs is a "litmus test" for universal health coverage against NTDs in endemic countries. The first WHO report on NTDs (2010) set the scene by presenting the evidence for how these interventions had produced results. The second report (2013) assessed the progress made in deploying them and detailed the obstacles to their implementation. This third report analyses for the first time the investments needed to achieve the scale up of implementation required to achieve the targets of the WHO Roadmap on NTDs and universal coverage against NTDs. INVESTING TO OVERCOME THE GLOBAL IMPACT OF NEGLECTED TROPICAL DISEASES presents an investment strategy for NTDs and analyses the specific investment case for prevention, control, elimination and eradication of 12 of the 17 NTDs. Such an analysis is justified following the adoption by the Sixty-sixth World Health Assembly in 2013 of resolution WHA6612 on neglected tropical diseases, which called for sufficient and predictable funding to achieve the Roadmap's targets and sustain control efforts. The report cautions, however, that it is wise investment and not investment alone that will yield success. The report registers progress and challenges and signals those that lie ahead. Climate change is expected to increase the spread of several vector-borne NTDs, notably dengue, transmission of which is directly influenced by temperature, rainfall, relative humidity and climate variability primarily through their effects on the vector. Investments in vector-borne diseases will avoid the potentially catastrophic expenditures associated with their control. The presence of NTDs will thereby signal an early warning system for climate-sensitive diseases. The ultimate goal is to deliver enhanced and equitable interventions to the most marginalized populations in the context of a changing public-health and investment landscape to ensure that all peoples affected by NTDs have an opportunity to lead healthier and wealthier lives."--Publisher's description.

One of the top four contributors to the global burden of disease is diarrheal infections. Intestinal parasites are major causes of morbidity and mortality associated with diarrheal diseases in both the developed and developing world. Amebiasis is responsible for 50 million cases of invasive disease and 70,000 deaths annually in the world. Giardiasis has an estimated worldwide prevalence of 280 million cases annually. In developed countries, Giardia lamblia infects about 2% of adults and 6-8% of children. The prevalence of G. lamblia infection is generally higher in developing countries, ranging from 3% to 90%. Furthermore, giardial infections contribute substantially to the 2.5 million annual deaths from diarrheal disease. In Asia, Africa, and Latin America, about 500,000 new giardiasis cases are reported each year. Cryptosporidium accounts for 20% and 9% of diarrheal episodes in children in developing and developed countries, respectively. Infection with Cryptosporidium can be chronic and especially debilitating in immunosuppressed individuals and malnourished children. A recent study to measure disease burden, based on disability-adjusted life years (DALYs), found that cryptosporidiosis and amebiasis produce about 10.6 million DALYs. This exceeds the DALYs of any helminth infection currently being targeted by the World Health Organization for preventive chemotherapy. Because of its link with poverty, Giardia and Cryptosporidium were included in the WHO Neglected Diseases Initiative in 2004. E. histolytica, G. lamblia, and C. parvum have been listed by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) as category B priority biodefense pathogens due to low infectious dose and potential for dissemination through compromised food and water supplies in the United States. Despite the prevalence of amebiasis, giardiasis, and cryptosporidiosis there are no vaccines or prophylactic drugs. The first-line drugs for invasive amebiasis and giardiasis chemotherapy are nitroimidazoles, with the prototype, metronidazole, being the most common drug used worldwide. Metronidazole has been shown to be both mutagenic in a microbiological system and carcinogenic to rodents, and frequently causes gastrointestinal side effects. In spite of the efficacy of nitroimidazole drugs, treatment failures in giardiasis occur in up to 20% of cases. Clinical resistance of G. lamblia to metronidazole is proven and cross resistance is a concern with all commonly used antigiardial drugs. Nitazoxanide, the only FDA-approved drug for the treatment of cryptosporidiosis, is effective in the treatment of immunocompetent patients and partially effective for immunosuppressed patients. Therefore, it is critical to search for more effective drugs to treat amebiasis, giardiasis, and cryptosporidiosis. This Research Topic for Frontiers in Microbiology will explore the recent progress in drug development for parasitic diarrheal diseases. This includes an understanding of drug resistance mechanisms. We would also welcome submissions on the drug development for other diarrheal parasites. We hope that this research topic will include a comprehensive survey of various attempts by the parasitology research community to create effective drugs for these diseases.

This report is structured in five parts: national framework for traditional and complementary medicine (T&CM); product regulation; practices and practitioners; the challenges faced by countries; and finally the country profiles. Apart from the section on practices and practitioners the report is consistent with the format of the report of the first global survey in order to provide a useful comparison. The section on practices and practitioners which covers providers education and health insurance is a new section incorporated to reflect the emerging trends in T&CM and to gather new information regarding these topics at a national level. All new information received has been incorporated into individual country profiles and data graphs. The report captures the three phases of progress made by Member States; that is before and after the first WHO Traditional Medicine Strategy (1999?2005) from the first global survey to the second global survey (2005?2012) and from the second survey to the most recent timeline (2012?2018).

Discovery and Development of Anti-Breast Cancer Agents from Natural Products presents cutting-edge research advances in the field of bioactive natural products and natural drug formulations. This volume in the Natural Products Drug Discovery series focuses on molecules of natural origin and their synthetic analogs that show promising potential to act as anti-breast cancer and chemotherapeutic agents. Combining foundational background information on cancer mechanisms with details of medicinal structures from natural products, this volume compiles the latest developments from across interdisciplinary fields.Discovery and Development of Anti-Breast Cancer Agents from Natural Products will serve as a valuable resource for researchers working to discover promising leads for the development of novel pharmaceuticals for breast cancer, highlighting a number of key structures from natural products and exploring possible future developments in the area. - Highlights active agents from natural sources for development as novel anti-cancer agents - Features contributions from active researchers and leading experts working in the field - Includes foundational background information on both breast cancer mechanisms and natural product structures to support researchers from different disciplines

Discovery and Development of Anti-inflammatory Agents from Natural Products, the latest volume in the Natural Product Drug Discovery series, presents cutting-edge research advances in the field of bioactive natural products and natural drug formulations, with this volume focusing on molecules of natural origin and their synthetic analogues that have the potential to act against the pathogens responsible for inflammatory diseases. All aspects of each are covered, including isolations and structure elucidations, in vitro and in vivo biological activity, synthetic optimization, investigations of pharmacodynamics and kinetics, and the structure-activity relationships of anti-inflammatory natural products. Written by active researchers and leading experts, this book brings together an overview of current discoveries and trends in this field. It will be a valuable resource for researchers working to discover promising leads for the development of pharmaceuticals in the prevention and treatment of anti-inflammatory diseases. - Features contributions from active researchers and leading experts working in medicinal natural products and herbal formulations - Includes recent, cutting-edge advances on medicinal natural products, along with preventative therapies for different kinds of inflammation-directed diseases - Offers an authoritative source of information on the industrial application of natural products for medicinal purposes

For human health, leishmaniasis is among the most important protozoan diseases, superseded only by malaria. Globally, 10 to 12 million people are infected with 1.5 million new cases every year. The development of cheaper new drugs is urgently needed for this neglected disease that is developing resistance to current treatments. Chemotherapy remains the only treatment option for the bulk of patients. However, this is largely unaffordable for most. In the past three years numerous advances in drug discovery have been made for treating this disease by exploiting diverging metabolic pathways between the Leishmania enzymes and their hosts, using nanotechnology to target the immune cell phagolysosomes where Leishmania resides. Drug Discovery for Leishmaniasis aims to provide a perspective of the current treatments and their challenges, blended with the emerging strategies and methodologies that will drive new target appraisals and drug developments, as well as addressing the molecular basis of resistance in Leishmania. Recent studies have shown that leishmaniasis affects some of the poorest people in the world, with 95% of fatal cases occurring in only 6 countries. With the WHO goal of eliminating this public health problem in the South-east Asia Region by 2020, this book will be important for anyone who is interested in neglected tropical diseases.

This book comprehensively reviews current and novel treatment strategies against human parasites, including protozoans and helminths, using natural products. The initial chapters summarize the conventional treatment strategies and natural-product based therapeutics against these parasites. It discusses biochemical tools and techniques for the discovery of natural product based drugs against human parasites. The book also covers the ingenious and innovative mechanisms to achieve drug resistance by the protozoan parasites and strategies to overcome the resistance. It entails mechanistic insight into the modulation of host immune responses to delay or inhibit parasite clearance and explores host-pathogen interactions that mediate immunity against subsequent parasite challenge. In turn, the volume helps in understanding the immunobiology of the parasites and tools to identify candidate vaccine antigens and novel delivery systems against the protozoan parasites. Lastly, it explores the role of advanced methods, including nanotechnology, marine bioprospecting, and microorganisms-derived biochemicals against the protozoan parasites. This book is useful for students and researchers of pharmacology, parasitology, zoology and other allied fields.​