Nornidulin, A New Inhibitor of Malate: Quinone Oxidoreductase (MQO) from Indonesian sp. BioMCC f.T.8501.

This study aimed to obtain a microbial active compound as a novel antimalarial drug from Indonesian isolates. Target-based assays were used to screen for antimalarial activity against the parasite mitochondrial, malate:quinone oxidoreductase (MQO) enzyme. In total, 1600 crude extracts, composed from 800 fungi and 800 actinomycetes extracts, were screened against MQO, yielding six active extracts as primary hits.

Exploring natural microbial resources for the discovery of anti-malarial compounds.

Microorganisms in nature are highly diverse biological resources, which can be explored for drug discovery. Some countries including Brazil, Columbia, Indonesia, China, and Mexico, which are blessed with geographical uniqueness with diverse climates and display remarkable megabiodiversity, potentially provide microorganismal resources for such exploitation. In this review, as an example of drug discovery campaigns against tropical parasitic diseases utilizing microorganisms from such a megabiodiversity country, we summarize our past and on-going activities toward discovery of new antimalarials.