Leishmanicidal compounds of natural origin: their prospective mantle in antileishmanial therapy

Leishmaniasis is a complex vector-borne protozoan disease caused by parasites of the genus Leishmania. The parasites hugely vary in their mode of tropism giving rise to different non-lethal to fatal clinical patterns of the disease. Afflicting millions, the disease is endemic in tropics and sub-tropics, where majority of the affected individuals are rural and unsound economically, leading to its classification as one of the neglected tropical diseases, which is, however, contradicted by its alliance with AIDS and spread to non-endemic countries. With no antileishmanial vaccine in hand and available chemotherapy being fallacious, drug development from alternate natural resources against this relentless disease is viewed upon as an exemplary approach. Herein, we have put together, a concise description of the disease, lacunae in the present therapy and promising antileishmanial leads of natural origin in the past decade.