Antimalarial activities of peptide antibiotics isolated from fungi

Malaria caused by Plasmodium falciparum is a major public health problem in the developing countries of the world. Clinical treatment of malaria has become complicated due to the occurrence of infections caused by drug resistant parasites. Secondary metabolites from fungi are an attractive source of chemotherapeutic agents. This work reports the isolation and in vitro antiplasmodial activities of peptide antibiotics of fungal origin. The three peptide antibiotics used in this study were efrapeptins, zervamicins, and antiamoebin. The high-performance liquid chromatography-purified peptides were characterized by nuclear magnetic resonance and mass spectral analysis. All three fungal peptides kill P. falciparum in culture with 50 % inhibitory concentrations in the micromolar range. A possible mode of action of these peptide antibiotics on P. falciparum is presented. Malaria is a major tropical disease that affects more than 300 million people living in the developing countries of the world (21, 24). The widespread occurrence of drug-resistant Plasmo-dium falciparum infection necessitates the urgent development of new chemotherapeutic agents. Secondary metabolites pro-duced by fungi are often novel molecules with large potentia