NANPDB: A Resource for Natural Products from Northern African Sources.

Natural products (NPs) are often regarded as sources of drugs or drug leads or simply as a "source of inspiration" for the discovery of novel drugs. We have built the Northern African Natural Products Database (NANPDB) by collecting information on ∼4500 NPs, covering literature data for the period from 1962 to 2016. The data cover compounds isolated mainly from plants, with contributions from some endophyte, animal (e.

The Chemistry and Biological Activities of Natural Products from Northern African Plant Families: From Taccaceae to Zygophyllaceae.

Traditional medicinal practices have a profound influence on the daily lives of people living in developing countries, particularly in Africa, since the populations cannot generally afford the cost of Western medicines. We have undertaken to investigate the correlation between the uses of plants in Traditional African medicine and the biological activities of the derived natural products, with the aim to validate the use of traditional medicine in Northern African communities. The literature is covered for the period 1959-2015 and part III of this review series focuses on plant families with names beginning with letters T to Z.

Perspectives on tuberculosis pathogenesis and discovery of anti- tubercular drugs.

Based on the global burden of tuberculosis and resistant strains that have recently emerged, not responding to existing therapies, it has become urgent to search for new remedies against this global human plague that has been compounded by HIV co-infection. Thus, the search for new drugs against the disease-causing agent, Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB), is an ongoing effort. This review discusses the state-of-the-art in anti-tuberculosis pathogenesis and anti-TB drug research, identifying some of the challenges being faced by researchers in the field and sheds light on possible ways forward, particularly in low-income countries.

Antiplasmodial activities of some products from Turreanthus africanus (Meliaceae).

We investigated the antiplasmodial activity of some pure compounds of Turreanthus africanus (Meliaceae), a plant that is used in traditional medicine to treat malaria in Southwest Cameroon. A phytochemical analysis of the methylene chloride: methanol (1:1) extract of the seeds of the plant yielded seven compounds. Four of them, which were oils, were subjected to in vitro bioassays on Plasmodium falciparum F 32, chloroquine sensitive strain.