Activity of the genus Zanthoxylum against diseases caused by protozoa: A systematic review.

Neglected diseases (NDs) are treated with a less varied range of drugs, with high cost and toxicity, which makes the search for therapeutic alternatives important. In this context, plants, such as those from the genus , can be promising due to active substances in their composition. This study evaluates the potential of species from this genus to treat NDs. Initially, a protocol was developed to carry out a systematic review approved by Prospero (CRD42020200438). The databases PubMed, BVS, Scopus, Science Direct, and Web of Science were used with the following keywords: "zanthoxylum," "xanthoxylums," "fagaras," "leishmaniasis," "chagas disease," "malaria," and "African trypanosomiasis." Two independent evaluators analyzed the title and abstract of 166 articles, and 122 were excluded due to duplicity or for not meeting the inclusion criteria. From the 44 selected articles, results of / tests were extracted. studies showed that , through the alkaloid nitidine, was active against (IC50 <1 μg/ml) and (IC50 <8 μg/ml), and selective for both (>10 and >30, respectively). For Chagas disease, the promising species (IC50 <2 μg/ml) were and , and for sleeping sickness, the species (IC50 <4 μg/ml) stood out. In the analysis, the most promising species were and . In summary, the species , , , , and are promising sources of active molecules for the treatment of NDs.