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Ticona JC, Bilbao-Ramos P, Amesty Á, Flores N, Dea-Ayuela MA, Bazzocchi IL, Jiménez IA. Flavonoids from Piper Species as Promising Antiprotozoal Agents against Giardia intestinalis. Structure-Activity Relationship and Drug-Likeness Studies. Pharmaceuticals (Basel) 2022; 15:1386. [PMID: 36355559 PMCID: PMC9695682 DOI: 10.3390/ph15111386] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2022] [Revised: 11/04/2022] [Accepted: 11/07/2022] [Indexed: 12/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Diarrhea diseases caused by the intestinal protozoan parasite Giardia intestinalis are a major global health burden. Moreover, there is an ongoing need for novel anti-Giardia drugs due to drawbacks with currently available treatments. This paper reports on the isolation and structural elucidation of six new flavonoids (1-6), along with twenty-three known ones (7-29) from the Piper species. Their structures were established by spectroscopic and spectrometric techniques. Flavonoids were tested for in vitro antiprotozoal activity against Giardia intestinalis trophozoites. In addition, structure-activity relationship (SAR) and in silico ADME studies were performed to understand the pharmacophore and pharmacokinetic properties of these natural compounds. Eight flavonoids from this series exhibited remarkable activity in the micromolar range. Moreover, compound 4 was identified as having a 40-fold greater antiparasitic effect (IC50 61.0 nM) than the clinical reference drug, metronidazole (IC50 2.5 µM). This antiprotozoal potency was coupled with an excellent selectivity index (SI 233) on murine macrophages and in silico drug-likeness. SAR studies revealed that the substitution patterns, type of functional group, and flavonoid skeleton played an essential role in the activity. These findings highlight flavonoid 4 as a promising candidate to develop new drugs for the treatment of Giardia infections.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juan C. Ticona
- Instituto Universitario de Bio-Orgánica Antonio González, Departamento de Química Orgánica, Universidad de La Laguna, Avenida Astrofísico Francisco Sánchez 2, 38206 La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain
- Instituto de Investigaciones Fármaco Bioquímicas, Facultad de Ciencias Farmacéuticas y Bioquímicas, Universidad Mayor de San Andrés, Avenida Saavedra 2224, Miraflores, La Paz, Bolivia
| | - Pablo Bilbao-Ramos
- Departamento de Parasitología, Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Plaza Ramón y Cajal s/n, 28040 Madrid, Spain
| | - Ángel Amesty
- Instituto Universitario de Bio-Orgánica Antonio González, Departamento de Química Orgánica, Universidad de La Laguna, Avenida Astrofísico Francisco Sánchez 2, 38206 La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain
| | - Ninoska Flores
- Instituto de Investigaciones Fármaco Bioquímicas, Facultad de Ciencias Farmacéuticas y Bioquímicas, Universidad Mayor de San Andrés, Avenida Saavedra 2224, Miraflores, La Paz, Bolivia
| | - M. Auxiliadora Dea-Ayuela
- Departamento de Parasitología, Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Plaza Ramón y Cajal s/n, 28040 Madrid, Spain
- Departamento de Farmacia, Bioquímica y Biología Molecular, Universidad CEU-Cardenal Herrera, Avda. Seminario s/n, 46113 Moncada, Valencia, Spain
| | - Isabel L. Bazzocchi
- Instituto Universitario de Bio-Orgánica Antonio González, Departamento de Química Orgánica, Universidad de La Laguna, Avenida Astrofísico Francisco Sánchez 2, 38206 La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain
| | - Ignacio A. Jiménez
- Instituto Universitario de Bio-Orgánica Antonio González, Departamento de Química Orgánica, Universidad de La Laguna, Avenida Astrofísico Francisco Sánchez 2, 38206 La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain
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