Publications by authors named "Lesetja Legoabe"

A series of novel pyrazolyl amide-chalcones conjugates was synthesized in five steps and evaluated against a range of medically important kinetoplastid parasites including Trypanosoma cruzi, Trypanosoma brucei brucei, Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense and Leishmania infantum. In addition, the series was also tested for in vitro cytotoxicity activity against human lung fibroblasts and primary mouse macrophages. Among all synthetised compounds, 9b was found to be the most active against T.

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Geraniol, a primary component of several essential oils, has been associated with broad-spectrum antiprotozoal activities, although moderate to weak. This study primarily concentrated on the synthesis of hydrazinated geraniol derivatives as potential antiprotozoal agents. The synthesised compounds were tested in vitro against different parasitic protozoans of clinical relevance, including Trypanosoma brucei brucei, Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense, Trypanosoma cruzi and Leishmania infantum.

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Several quinoline derivatives incorporating arylnitro and aminochalcone moieties were synthesized and evaluated in vitro against a broad panel of trypanosomatid protozoan parasites responsible for sleeping sickness (Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense), nagana (Trypanosoma brucei brucei), Chagas disease (Trypanosoma cruzi), and leishmaniasis (Leishmania infantum). Several of the compounds demonstrated significant antiprotozoal activity. Specifically, compounds 2c, 2d, and 4i displayed submicromolar activity against T.

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Nagana and Human African Trypanosomiasis (HAT), caused by (sub)species of Trypanosoma, are diseases that impede human and animal health, and economic growth in Africa. The few drugs available have drawbacks including suboptimal efficacy, adverse effects, drug resistance, and difficult routes of administration. New drugs are needed.

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Background: In sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), significant morbidity and mortality have been linked to diarrhea, which is frequently caused by microorganisms. A rise in antimicrobial-resistant pathogens has reignited the search for alternative therapies. This scoping review aims to map the literature on medicinal plants in relation to their anti-diarrheal potential from SSA.

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A library of imidazo[1,2-a]pyridine-appended chalcones were synthesized and characterized using H NMR, C NMR and HRMS. The synthesized analogues were screened for their antikinetoplastid activity against Trypanosoma cruzi, Trypanosoma brucei brucei, Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense and Leishmania infantum. The analogues were also tested for their cytotoxicity activity against human lung fibroblasts and primary mouse macrophages.

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Trypanosomes and Leishmania are parasitic protozoans that affect millions of people globally. Herein we report the synthesis of 2-aroyl quinazolinones and their antiprotozoal efficacy against Trypanosoma brucei, Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense, Trypanosoma cruzi, and Leishmania infantum. These compounds were counter-screened against a human cell line for cytotoxicity.

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Steroids are biomolecules that play pivotal roles in various physiological and drug discovery processes. Abundant research has been fuelled towards steroid-heterocycles conjugates over the last few decades as potential therapeutic agents against various diseases especially as anticancer agents. In this context various steroid-triazole conjugates have been synthesized and studied for their anticancer potential against various cancer cell lines.

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Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) has an impermeable cell wall which gives it an inherent ability to resist many antibiotics. DprE1, an essential enzyme in Mtb cell wall synthesis, has been validated as a target for several TB drug candidates. The most potent and developmentally advanced DprE1 inhibitor, PBTZ169, is still undergoing clinical development.

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Herein, we describe 39 novel quinolone compounds bearing a hydrophilic amine chain and varied substituted benzyloxy units. These compounds demonstrate broad-spectrum activities against acid-fast bacterium, Gram-positive and -negative bacteria, fungi, and leishmania parasite. Compound maintained antitubercular activity against moxifloxacin-, isoniazid-, and rifampicin-resistant , while exhibited low micromolar activities (<1 μg/mL) against World Health Organization (WHO) critical pathogens: , , and .

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Sepsis is a severe inflammatory response to systemic infection and is a threatening cause of death in intensive care units. In recent years, a number of studies have been conducted on the protective effect of natural products against sepsis-induced organ injury. However, a comprehensive review of these studies indicating the mechanisms of action of the bioactive compounds is still lacking.

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The discovery of nalidixic acid is one pinnacle in medicinal chemistry, which opened a new area of research that has led to the discovery of several life-saving antimicrobial agents (generally referred to as fluoroquinolones) for over decades. Although fluoroquinolones are frequently encountered in the literature, the utility of quinolone compounds extends far beyond the applications of fluoroquinolones. Quinolone-based compounds have been reported for activity against malaria, tuberculosis, fungal and helminth infections, etc.

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Herein we report the synthesis of 21 novel small molecules inspired by metronidazole and Schiff base compounds. The compounds were evaluated against Trichomonas vaginalis and cross-screened against other pathogenic protozoans of clinical relevance. Most of these compounds were potent against T.

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Curcumin is a natural product that has been reported to exhibit myriad pharmacological properties, one of which is antitubercular activity. It demonstrates antitubercular activity by directly inhibiting Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M.tb) and also enhances immune responses that ultimately lead to the elimination of M.

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Despite existing conventional hypoglycemic drugs to manage diabetes, their non-availability and cost in low-income countries coupled with the associated side effects remain a major concern. Consequently, exploring for alternative treatments to manage diabetes has been a continuous priority. L.

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Herein we report the synthesis of novel compounds inspired by the antimicrobial activities of nitroazole and thiazolidin-4-one based compounds reported in the literature. Target compounds were investigated in vitro for antitubercular, antibacterial, antifungal, and overt cell toxicity properties. All compounds exhibited potent antitubercular activity.

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A recent study identified quinolone-based thiosemicarbazone with an MIC value of 2 µM against Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb). Herein, we report further optimization of the previous hit, which led to the discovery of quinolone-tethered aminoguanidine molecules with generally good antitubercular activity. Compounds 7f and 8e emerged as the hits of the series with submicromolar antitubercular activity, exhibiting MIC values of 0.

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Due to the implication of adenosine in seizure suppression, adenosine-based therapies such as adenosine receptor (AR) agonists have been investigated. This study aimed at investigating thieno[2,3-]pyridine derivatives as non-nucleoside A agonists that could be used in pharmaco-resistant epilepsy (PRE). Compound (thieno[2,3-]pyridine derivative), displayed good binding affinity to the rA AR (  = 61.

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Tuberculosis (TB) is one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Developing new anti-TB compounds using cost-effective processes is critical to reduce TB incidence and accomplish the End TB Strategy milestone. Herein, we describe the synthesis and structure-activity relationships of a library of thirty 7H-Pyrrolo[2,3-d]pyrimidine derivatives providing insights into the contributions of different aromatic, aryl and alkyl substitution at the C-4 position of the 7-deazapurine ring.

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Monoamine oxidase B (MAO-B) inhibitors are established therapy for Parkinson's disease and act, in part, by blocking the MAO-catalysed metabolism of dopamine in the brain. Two propargylamine-containing MAO-B inhibitors, selegiline [(R)-deprenyl] and rasagiline, are currently used in the clinic for this purpose. These compounds are mechanism-based inactivators and, after oxidative activation, form covalent adducts with the FAD co-factor.

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Over the past few years, great progress has been made in the development of high-affinity adenosine A and/or A receptor antagonists-promising agents for the potential treatment of Parkinson's disease. Unfortunately, many of these compounds raise structure-related concerns. The present study investigated the effect of ring closures on the rA /A affinity of compounds containing a highly reactive α,β-unsaturated carbonyl system, hence providing insight into the potential of heterocycles to address these concerns.

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Two recent clinical trials reported that Artemisia afra contained significant amounts of the bioactive compound artemisinin. We suspected sample contamination and therefore obtained the A. afra material for testing.

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In a pilot study, eleven pyrrolopyridine and pyrrolopyrimidine derivatives (specifically, 7-azaindole and 7-deazapurine derivatives) were synthesised by Suzuki cross-coupling reactions and evaluated via radioligand binding assays as potential adenosine receptor (AR) antagonists in order to further investigate the structure-activity relationships of these compounds. 6-Chloro-4-phenyl-1H-pyrrolo[2,3-b]pyridine, with a 7-azaindole scaffold, was identified as a selective A AR antagonist with a rAK value of 0.16 µM, and interestingly, the addition of a N-atom to the aforementioned fused heterocyclic ring system, creating corresponding 7-deazapurines, led to a dual A/A AR ligand (2-chloro-4-phenyl-7H-pyrrolo[2,3-d]pyrimidine: rAK: 0.

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Human African trypanosomiasis is a vector-borne tropical disease of African origin. Presently, due to human migration and climate change, the disease might present global health and economic burdens as current chemotherapy of trypanosomiasis remains a challenge due to limited existing drugs, which are of poor efficacy, cause severe adverse events and are very costly. Recently, Beteck and co-workers identified a small library of 1,3,6-substituted non-fluoroquinolones that showed moderate to weak trypanocidal activity without cytotoxic effects.

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