High antitrypanosomal activity of plant-derived sulphur-containing amides

Chagas disease, caused by Trypanosoma cruzi, represents an important public health problem in endemic geographic regions in Middle and South America, affecting 15 million infected people. Treatment options are still limited due to the toxicity of available drugs, parasite resistance and poor drug activity during the chronic phase of the disease. In this study, we investigated the in vitro antitrypanosomal activity of 15 tropical plant-derived compounds with the aim of finding new drug candidates. Three novel sulphur-containing amides (methyldambullin, methylgerambullin and sakambullin) showed promising antitrypanosomal activities, with 50% effective concentrations (EC50 values) after 72 h exposure of 1.7, 1.23 and 5.18M, respectively, compared with EC50 values for amphotericin B and benznidazole of 0.71M and 30.89M, respectively.