The anti‐Trypanosoma activities of medicinal plants: A systematic review of the literature

BACKGROUND: The existing drug treatments for trypanosomiases are limited and suffer from shortcomings due to their toxicity and the emergence of resistant parasites. Developing anti‐trypanosomal compounds based on natural products is a promising way of fighting trypanosomiases. OBJECTIVES: This study aims to identify through scientific review a large variety of medicinal plants (anti‐trypanosomal) used worldwide and scientifically shown to display anti‐trypanosomal effects. METHODS: To collect data, the anti‐trypanosomal activities of Africa, Asia, the Middle East, South America, North America, Europe and Oceania medicinal plants have been checked by considering the published paper. RESULTS: Based on collected data, 77 natural molecules were reported in the literature. Of which 59 were from the African region, 11 from Asia, 3 from Europe and 4 from Latin America. These active components belong to alkaloids, triterpenoids, lactone, quinoids, flavonoids, iridoids, lignans, steroids, lipids, oxygenated heterocycles, benzenoids, proteins, coumarins, phenylpropanoids and peptides. We also specified the prosperous plants with unique anti‐trypanosomal activities. CONCLUSIONS: However, there is a need for further studies on the ability of the isolated compounds to ameliorate the trypanosome‐induced pathological alterations and also the elucidation of their modes of actions and activities against other trypanosome species.