Saponins as Potential Antiprotozoal Agents

Abstract

The sphere of natural products is an abundant source for discovery of therapeutic drugs for the treatment of neglected parasitic diseases. Various classes of chemical substances displayed antiprotozoal activity, such as alkaloids, terpenoids, saponins, and flavonoids. The highly functional saponins are found predominantly in plants and are frequently consumed in foods, beverages, and medicines. This class of chemical substance has structurally one or more glycoside moieties linked to a triterpenoid or steroid. Saponins demonstrated to be very valuable therapeutic targets whose potential is still to be explored and that may be useful for the development of new antiprotozoal drugs options.