Fungal Metabolite Asperaculane B Inhibits Malaria Infection and Transmission

Mosquito-transmitted Plasmodium parasites cause millions of people worldwide to suffer malaria every year. Drug-resistant Plasmodium parasites and insecticide-resistant mosquitoes make malaria hard to control. Thus, the next generation of antimalarial drugs that inhibit malaria infection and transmission are needed. We screened our Global Fungal Extract Library (GFEL) and obtained a candidate that completely inhibited Plasmodium falciparum transmission to Anopheles gambiae. The candidate fungal strain was determined as Aspergillus aculeatus. The bioactive compound was purified and identified as asperaculane B. The concentration of 50% inhibition on P. falciparum transmission (IC(50)) is 7.89 µM. Notably, asperaculane B also inhibited the development of asexual P. falciparum with IC(50) of 3 µM, and it is nontoxic to human cells. Therefore, asperaculane B is a new dual-functional antimalarial lead that has the potential to treat malaria and block malaria transmission.