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Updated: May 3, 2026
High Yield Purification of Plasmodium falciparum Merozoites For Use in Opsonizing Antibody Assays
Published on: July 17, 2014
Natural triterpenic phenolic esters target PfA-M17 in Plasmodium falciparum
Lúcia Mamede1,2, Gabriel W Rangel3, Marjorie Schmitt4
1Pharmacognosy Research Group, Louvain Drug Research Institute (LDRI), UCLouvain, Brussels, Belgium.
Background:
Malaria is a deadly parasitic disease for which innovative treatments are urgently needed. A mixture of eight triterpenic esters (8TTE) was previously identified as important for the antiplasmodial activity of Keetia leucantha twigs, a plant used in traditional medicine in Benin. Despite the reported in vitro and in vivo activity, the targets of 8TTE are unknown.
Methods:
The present study investigated the mode of action of 8TTE on Plasmodium falciparum by a multi-scale integrative study from phenotype to metabolome, including: phenotypic analysis, enzymatic tests, molecular docking and metabolomic profiling.
Results:
This study identified a unique antiplasmodial profile with activity onset in the early-ring stage of the parasite, the inhibition of aminopeptidase PfA-M17 (PlasmoDB PF3D7_1446200) and perturbations in parasite haemoglobin metabolism.
Conclusions:
Further structure-activity and medicinal chemistry studies are warranted to elaborate on these findings and the potential for 8TTE-related molecules to serve as future antimalarial drugs.
