Natural products and their derivatives as anti- flavivirus drug candidates

AbstractFlavivirus is a genus that comprises more than 70 viruses with common characteristics and causes many of the most prevalent infections in the world. These viruses affect more people than any other genus. However, compared to other viral diseases, priorities are low in the context of public health perhaps due to their prevalence in developing countries. A safe and efficacious vaccine would be the ideal way to prevent diseases caused byFlavivirus spp., however, the treatment of most of these infections is still nonspecific and symptomatic. Natural products and their derivatives are emerging as candidates in the treatment of flaviviral diseases and are the scope of the present review. Natural products are molecules obtained through biological processes of living organisms and have several applications, many being in human and veterinary medicine and in agriculture. It is possible to obtain these compounds from secondary metabolites produced by plants, animals, and microorganisms. Many countries, such as Brazil, rely on traditional medicine for economic and geographic reasons. The use of medicinal plant compounds and their derivatives are among the main therapeutic resources for the population mainly in primary health care. These molecules play an important role to combat various types of pathogenic microorganisms, for example, bacteria, fungi, and viruses. With respect to antiviral activity, these compounds are promising candidates to combatFlavivirus spp.
Source: Medicinal Chemistry Research - Category: Chemistry Source Type: research