Review of Theoretical Models to Study Natural Products with Antiprotozoal Activity

In nature, pathogenic parasite species with different susceptibility patterns of antiparasitic drugs abound. In this sense, natural products derived from plants are a potency for drugs with potential antiparasitic activity. Unfortunately, there are many metabolites and studying all of them would be costly in terms of money and resources. To this end, theoretical studies such as QSAR models could be useful. These, for the most part, predict the biological activity of the drugs against a single species of parasite. Consequently, foretell the probability with which a drug is active against many different species with a single QSAR model is an important achievement. This review consists of three parts: the first part is a review of metabolites found in nature that have antiparasitic activity, in particular the antiprotozoal (Leishmania and Trypanosoma); the second part includes a review of theoretical studies looking for a model that predicts the antiprotozoal activity of natural products; the third and final part concerns the study of theoretical models focused on the interaction between drug and receptor, analyzing new metabolites with antiprotozoal activity.