Search

Tuberculosis treatment consists of a drug combination, where isoniazid is the core drug and alcoholism is a factor highly related to poor patient compliance with the therapy. CYP2E1 is an enzyme involved both in the metabolism of ethanol and in the formation of hepatotoxic compounds during the metabolism of isoniazid. The shared metabolism pathway accounts for the possibility of pharmacokinetic interaction in cases of concomitant alcohol use during tuberculosis treatment. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of repeated exposure of Wistar rats (males, 250 g, n=6) to ethanol on the pharmacokinetics of a single dose of isoniazid in combination with pyrazinamide and rifampicin (100 mg/kg, 350 mg/kg and 100 mg/kg, respectively). An animal group received the combination of drugs and ethanol and was compared to a control group, which received the combination of drugs without exposure to ethanol. The plasma concentrations of isoniazid were determined by a UHPLC/UV bioanalytical method that was previously validated. Biochemical markers of liver function were measured to assess potential damage. A lower elimination half-life of isoniazid was observed in the ethanol group than in the control group (t1/2 0.91 h versus 1.34 h). There was no evidence of hepatotoxicity through the biomarker enzymes evaluated. The results allow us to infer that although there are no biochemical changes related to liver damage, there is a slight influence of ethanol exposure on the pharmacokinetic profile of isoniazid. This change may have a relevant impact on the efficacy of isoniazid in the outcome of tuberculosis treatment.

Made available in DSpace on 2020-12-10T19:49:33Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2020-02-12 Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) Procad Amazonia Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) The objectives of this study were to extract and purify Bixin from the seeds of Bixa orellana and to evaluate its hypoglycemic activity in vivo, as well as, to conduct an in silico study of selectivity on peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors via molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulations. Oral administration of Bixin (10 mg/kg) significantly reduced their glucose level that was alloxan-induced diabetic rats. Bixin showed in silico selectivity on peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs), particularly by the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPAR gamma), which supports the hypoglycemic activity of Bixin. From the results obtained, it can be inferred that Bixin presents hypoglycemic characteristics, which was confirmed by the results obtained from the in vivo and in silico tests. Bixin may act by other pathways to control blood glucose and thus it is possible that it presents a different toxicity profile than troglitazone, rosiglitazone and pioglitazone. However, more studies on the activity and toxicity of Bixin are needed to evaluate for further clinical use. Univ Fed Amapa, Dept Biol Sci & Hlth, Lab Drugs Discovery, Macapa, Brazil Univ Sierra, Div Postgrade, Ixtlan De Juarez, Mexico Univ Fed Amapa, Dept Biol Sci & Hlth, Lab Modeling & Computat Chem, Macapa, Brazil Univ Fed Amapa, Res Grp Biocatalysis & Apllied Organ Synth, Macapa, Brazil Sao Paulo State Univ, Dept Nat Act Principles & Toxicol, Fac Pharmaceut Sci, Araraquara, SP, Brazil Univ Sao Paulo, Dept Cellular & Mol Biol, Ribeirao Preto Med Sch, Ribeirao Preto, Brazil Univ Nacl Autonoma Mexico, Fac Chem, Dept Pharm, Lab Pharmacol Nat Prod, Mexico City, DF, Mexico Univ Sao Paulo, Ribeirao Preto Med Sch, Bioinformat Grp, Dept Genet, Ribeirao Preto, Brazil Sao Paulo State Univ, Dept Nat Act Principles & Toxicol, Fac Pharmaceut Sci, Araraquara, SP, Brazil CAPES: PNPD/20130076-14001012005P1 Procad Amazonia: Auxpe - 1723/2018 CNPq: 407768/2013-0

The objectives of this study were to extract and purify Bixin from the seeds of

Membrane permeability plays an important role in oral drug absorption. Caco-2 and Madin-Darby Canine Kidney (MDCK) cell culture systems have been widely used for assessing intestinal permeability. Since most drugs are absorbed passively, Parallel Artificial Membrane Permeability Assay (PAMPA) has gained popularity as a low-cost and high-throughput method in early drug discovery when compared to high-cost, labor intensive cell-based assays. At the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS), PAMPA pH 5 is employed as one of the Tier I absorption, distribution, metabolism, and elimination (ADME) assays. In this study, we have developed a quantitative structure activity relationship (QSAR) model using our ∼6500 compound PAMPA pH 5 permeability dataset. Along with ensemble decision tree-based methods such as Random Forest and eXtreme Gradient Boosting, we employed deep neural network and a graph convolutional neural network to model PAMPA pH 5 permeability. The classification models trained on a balanced training set provided accuracies ranging from 71% to 78% on the external set. Of the four classifiers, the graph convolutional neural network that directly operates on molecular graphs offered the best classification performance. Additionally, an ∼85% correlation was obtained between PAMPA pH 5 permeability and in vivo oral bioavailability in mice and rats. These results suggest that data from this assay (experimental or predicted) can be used to rank-order compounds for preclinical in vivo testing with a high degree of confidence, reducing cost and attrition as well as accelerating the drug discovery process. Additionally, experimental data for 486 compounds (PubChem AID: 1645871) and the best models have been made publicly available (https://opendata.ncats.nih.gov/adme/).

Dementia is characterized by the impairment of cognition and behavior of people over 65 years. Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most prevalent neurodegenerative disorder in the world, as approximately 47 million people are affected by this disease and the tendency is that this number will increase to 62% by 2030. Two microscopic features assist in the characterization of the disease, the amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary agglomerates. All these factors are responsible for the slow and gradual deterioration of memory that affect language, personality or cognitive control. For the AD diagnosis, neuropsychological tests are performed in different spheres of cognitive functions but since not all cognitive functions may be affected, cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers are used along with these tests. To date, cholinesterase inhibitors are used as treatment, they are the only drugs that have shown significant improvements in the cognitive functions of AD patients. Despite the proven effectiveness of cholinesterase inhibitors, an AD carrier, even while being treated, is continually subjected to progressive degeneration of the neuronal tissue. For this reason, other biochemical pathways associated with the pathophysiology of AD have been explored as alternatives to the treatment of this condition such as inhibition of β-secretase and glycogen synthase kinase-3β. The present study aims to conduct a review of the epidemiology, pathophysiology, symptoms, diagnosis and treatment of Alzheimer's disease, emphasizing the research and development of new therapeutic approaches.

Made available in DSpace on 2018-12-11T17:02:19Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2016-04-01 Benznidazole (BNZ) is the first-line drug for the treatment of Chagas disease. The drug is available in the form of immediaterelease tablets for 100-mg (adult) and 12.5-mg (pediatric) doses. The drug is administered two or three times daily for 60 days. The high frequency of daily administrations and the long period of treatment are factors that significantly contribute to the abandonment of therapy, affecting therapeutic success. Accordingly, this study aimed to evaluate the preclinical pharmacokinetics of BNZ administered as extended-release tablets (200-mg dose) formulated with different types of polymers (hydroxypropyl methylcellulose K4M and K100M), compared to the tablets currently available. The studies were conducted with rabbits, and BNZ quantification was performed in plasma and urine by ultraperformance liquid chromatography methods previously validated. The bioavailability of BNZ was adequate in the administration of extended-release tablets; however, with the administration of the pediatric tablet, the bioavailability was lower than with other tablets, which showed that the clinical use of this formulation should be monitored. The pharmacokinetic parameters demonstrated that the extended-release tablets prolonged drug release from the pharmaceutical matrix and provided an increase in the maintenance of the drug concentration in vivo, which would allow the frequency of administration to be reduced. Thus, a relative bioavailability study in humans will be planned for implementation of a new product for the treatment of Chagas disease. Departamento de Princípios Ativos Naturais E Toxicologia Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP), Campus Araraquara Departamento de Ciências Farmacêuticas Laboratório de Tecnologia Dos Medicamentos (LTM) Universidade Federal de Pernambuco (UFPE) Colegiado de Ciências Farmacêuticas Universidade Federal do Vale do São Francisco (UNIVASF) Departamento de Princípios Ativos Naturais E Toxicologia Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP), Campus Araraquara

Parkinson's Disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disease in the elderly population, with a higher prevalence in men, independent of race and social class; it affects approximately 1.5 to 2.0% of the elderly population over 60 years and 4% for those over 80 years of age. PD is caused by the necrosis of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra, which is the brain region responsible for the synthesis of the neurotransmitter dopamine (DA), resulting in its decrease in the synaptic cleft. The monoamine oxidase B (MAO-B) degrades dopamine, promoting the glutamate accumulation and oxidative stress with the release of free radicals, causing excitotoxicity. The PD symptoms are progressive physical limitations such as rigidity, bradykinesia, tremor, postural instability and disability in functional performance. Considering that there are no laboratory tests, biomarkers or imaging studies to confirm the disease, the diagnosis of PD is made by analyzing the motor features. There is no cure for PD, and the pharmacological treatment consists of a dopaminergic supplement with levodopa, COMT inhibitors, anticholinergics agents, dopaminergic agonists, and inhibitors of MAO-B, which basically aims to control the symptoms, enabling better functional mobility and increasing life expectancy of the treated PD patients. Due to the importance and increasing prevalence of PD in the world, this study reviews information on the pathophysiology, symptomatology as well as the most current and relevant treatments of PD patients.

Made available in DSpace on 2018-11-26T17:56:01Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2017-06-01 Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP) Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) Three ruthenium(II) phosphine/diimine/picolinate complexes were selected aimed at investigating anticancer activity against several cancer cell lines and the capacity of inhibiting the supercoiled DNA relaxation mediated by human topoisomerase IB (Top 1). The structure-lipophilicity relationship in membrane permeability using the Caco-2 cells have also been evaluated in this study. SCAR 5 was found to present 45 times more cytotoxicity against breast cancer cell when compared to cisplatin. SCAR 4 and 5 were both found to be capable of inhibiting the supercoiled DNA relaxation mediated by Top 1. Interaction studies showed that SCAR 4 and 5 can bind to DNA through electrostatic interactions while SCAR 6 is able to bind covalently to DNA. The complexes SCAR were found to interact differently with bovine serum albumin (BSA) suggesting hydrophobic interactions with albumin. The permeability of all complexes was seen to be dependent on their lipophilicity. SCAR 4 and 5 exhibited high membrane permeability (P-app > 10 x 10(-6) cm.s(-1)) in the presence of BSA. The complexes may pass through Caco-2 monolayer via passive diffusion mechanism and our results suggest that lipophilicity and interaction with BSA may influence the complexes permeation. In conclusion, we demonstrated that complexes have powerful pharmacological activity, with different results for each complex depending on the combination of their ligands. Sao Paulo State Univ, Sch Pharmaceut Sci, BR-14800903 Araraquara, Brazil Univ Fed Sao Carlos, Ctr Exact Sci & Technol, BR-13565905 Sao Carlos, SP, Brazil Univ Araraquara, Dept Hlth & Biol Sci, BR-14801340 Araraquara, Brazil Univ Roma Tor Vergata, Dept Biol, I-173 Rome, Italy Sao Paulo State Univ, Sch Pharmaceut Sci, BR-14800903 Araraquara, Brazil FAPESP: 2012/22364-1 FAPESP: 2013/20078-4

Made available in DSpace on 2022-04-29T07:13:15Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2013-01-01 The prodrug hydroximethylnitrofurazone (NFOH) presents antichagasic activity with greatly reduced toxicity compared to its drug matrix nitrofurazone (NF). Besides these new characteristics, the prodrug was more active against the parasite T. cruzi amastigotes. These advantages make the prodrug a possible therapeutic alternative for the treatment of both acute and the chronic phase of Chagas disease. However, the knowledge of pharmacokinetic profile is crucial to evaluate the feasibility of a new drug. In this study, our objective was to evaluate the in vivo formation of NF from the NFOH single administration and to evaluate its pharmacokinetic profile and compared it to NF administration. A bioanalytical method to determine the NF and NFOH by LCMS/MS was developed and validated to perform these investigations. Male albino rabbits (n=15) received NF intravenously and orally in doses of 6.35 and 63.5 mg / kg respectively, and NFOH, 80.5 mg / kg orally. The serial blood samples were processed and analyzed by mass spectrometry. The system operated in positive and negative modes for the analites determination, under elution of the mobile phase 50:50 water: methanol. The administration of NFOH allowed the calculation of pharmacokinetic parameters for the prodrug, and the NF obtained from NFOH administration. Using the pharmacokinetic profile obtained from the NF i.v. administration, the oral bioavailability of NF from the administered prodrug was obtained (60.1%) and, as a key parameter in a prodrug administration, should be considered in future studies. The i.v. and oral administrations of NF differ in the constant of elimination (0.04 vs 0.002) and elimination half-life (17.32 min vs 276.09 min) due to the low solubility of the drug that hinders the formation of molecular dispersions in the digestory tract. Still, there was observed no statistical differences were observed between the pharmacokinetic parameters of orally administered NF and NF obtained from NFOH. The calculated area under the curve (AUC 0-∞) showed that the exposure to the parental drug was fairly the same (844.79 vs 566.44) for NF and NF obtained from the prodrug administration. The tendency to higher NF's mean residence time (MRT) as observed in the prodrug administration (956.1 min vs 496.3 min) guarantees longer time for the action of the drug and it allows the expansion of the administration intervals. These findings, added with the beneficial characteristics of the prodrug encourage new efficacy tests towards the clinical use of NFOH. ©2013 Bentham Science Publishers. Departamento de Princípios Ativos Naturais e Toxicologia UNESP, Rodovia Araraquara Jaú Km. 01, 14801-902 Araraquara, SP Departamento de Princípios Ativos Naturais e Toxicologia UNESP, Rodovia Araraquara Jaú Km. 01, 14801-902 Araraquara, SP

Gastrotoxicity is a major problem for long-term therapy with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). DICCIC (1-(2,6-dichlorophenyl)indolin-2-one) is a new diclofenac prodrug, which has proven anti-inflammatory activity without gastroulcerogenic effect. The aim of this work was to compare the pharmacokinetic profiles of diclofenac from DICCIC (7.6 mg/kg equivalent to 8.1 mg/kg diclofenac) and diclofenac (8.1 mg/kg) administration in Wistar rats weighing 250-300 g (n=20). The doses were calculated by interspecific allometric scaling based on the 2 mg/kg from diary human dose of diclofenac. Blood samples were collected in heparinized tubes via the femoral artery through the implanted catheter. The plasma was separated and quantitation was made in a HPLC system with a UV-Vis detector. The confidence limits of the bioanalytical method were appropriate for its application in a preclinical pharmacokinetic study. The AUC of diclofenac from DICCIC (53.7± 5.8 ug/mL.min) was significantly less (Mann Whitney test, p

Background: LPSF/GQ-02 is a promising benzylidene thiazolidinedione that has demonstrated antidiabetic, antidyslipidemic, anti-atherosclerotic properties and can also treat non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Despite all activity studies of the new compound, its pharmacokinetics are not yet described. Objective: The aim of this study was to perform its first pharmacokinetic profile. Methods: For this purpose a bioanalytical method for the quantitation of 5-(4- Chloro-benzylidene)-3-(4-methylbenzyl)-thiazolidine-2,4-dione (LPSF/GQ-02) was developed and validated. A Waters UPLC chromatographer using a BEH column (2.1x50mm, 1.7μm particle), mobile phase water:acetonitrile (20:80) was used. The range of calibration curve in plasma was 1.9 to 250 ng/mL with r = 0.9997. LPSF/GQ-02 stability was evaluated in rat plasma and buffers at pH 1.2 and 7.4. The pharmacokinetic assay was carried out in male Wistar rats weighing 250-300 g. The animals received LPSF/GQ-02 at 3 mg/kg by intravenous route. The animals were used to perform a preliminary safety study concerning the evaluation of liver and kidney biomarkers (ALT, AST, urea, creatinine). Results: The obtained pharmacokinetic parameters were elimination half-life of 4.44 h, Cl of 8.00 L/h.kg, Vd of 45.60 L/kg and MRT of 3.79h. No difference was observed for the liver and kidney biomarkers. Conclusion: The intravenous pharmacokinetic parameters are in agreement with a good future posology, even though the plasma concentrations from oral administration were not quantifiable in a dose of 12 mg/kg. The preliminary safety study demonstrated no acute effect of the drug in liver and kidneys. The LPSF/GQ-02 is a new thiazolidinedione that should continue being evaluated for future clinical use.

The combination of isoniazid (INH), rifampicin (RMP) and pyrazinamide (PYR) is used in the treatment of tuberculosis. Although this treatment is effective in most clinical cases, the side-effects and the development of mycobacterium resistance have hindered its success. There is evidence that the combination of INH, RMP and ciprofloxacin (CIPRO) is useful in the treatment of tuberculosis. However, the influence of this drug combination on the hepatotoxicity of INH is unknown. In this study, the safety of combined INH, RMP and CIPRO was evaluated. Male albino rabbits (n = 20) were divided into four groups and subjected to multiple oral doses for 7 days according to the following treatments: water (group 1); 50 mg/kg INH (group 2); 50 mg/kg INH + 100 mg/kg RMP (group 3) and 50 mg/kg INH + 100 mg/kg RMP + 50 mg/kg CIPRO (group 4). Blood samples were taken before and after treatments for the determination of ALT, AST, ALP and bilirubin to assess hepatotoxicity. For pharmacokinetic analysis, serial blood samples were collected over 24 h on day 7 of treatment. Plasma concentrations of INH and acetylisoniazid (AcINH) were determined by HPLC. Biochemical parameters did not show any statistically significant differences between the groups that received the drug combinations. The pharmacokinetic profile of INH was also similar for both groups of combinations. These findings allow us to infer that the inclusion of CIPRO did not increase the risk of hepatotoxicity when compared with the classic combination of INH and RMP. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ) is a nuclear receptor that acts as a transcription factor, regulating glucose, lipid and inflammation signaling and it is exploited in type 2 diabetes treatment. However, the selective activation of this PPAR subtype has been linked to important adverse effects which can be mitigated through concomitant activation of PPARα and PPARδ. In this study, we proposed new PPARγ agonists using PharmaGist Server for pharmacophore prediction, the molecular docking was performed by GOLD (genetic optimization for ligand docking) v2.2, AutoDock 4.2 and AutoDock Vina 1.1 and QikProp v4.0 and Derek for absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion and toxicity (ADMET) assessment. One molecule showed high predicted affinity to PPARγ and favorable pharmacokinetic and toxicity properties. It was then evaluated against PPARα and PPARδ and showed greater affinity to these receptors than the controls. Therefore this molecule is a promising drug lead for the development of derivatives and for the treatment of metabolic syndrome with the benefits of a PPAR pan activation.

The incorporation of doxorubicin (DOX) in a microemulsion (DOX-ME) has shown beneficial consequences by reducing the cardiotoxic effects of DOX. The aim of this study was to determine the distribution of DOX-ME in Ehrlich solid tumor (EST) and the heart, and compare it with that of free DOX. The distribution study was conducted with female Swiss mice with EST (n = 7 per group; 20–25 g). Animals received a single dose (10 mg/kg, i.p.) of DOX or DOX-ME 7 days after tumor inoculation. Fifteen minutes after administration, the animals were sacrificed, and the tumor and heart tissues were taken for immediate analysis by ultra-performance liquid chromatography. No difference was observed in DOX concentration in tumor tissue between DOX and DOX-ME administration. However, the most remarkable result in this study was the statistically significant reduction in DOX concentration in heart tissue of animals given DOX-ME. Mean DOX concentration in heart tissue was 0.92 ± 0.54 ng mg−1 for DOX-ME and 1.85 ± 0.34 ng mg−1 for free DOX. In conclusion, DOX-ME provides a better tissue distribution profile, with a lower drug concentration in heart tissue but still comparable tumor drug concentration, which indicates that antitumor activity would not be compromised. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. and the American Pharmacists Association J Pharm Sci 103:3297–3301, 2014

In drug discovery and development, the kinetic study of active metabolites plays an important role, helping to define the time course of the drug in the body and its activity or toxicity. After a pharmacokinetics assessment of a drug and its metabolite or a prodrug and its parent-drug, several parameters can be calculated. In some cases, achieving the objective of the study does not require all possible parameters to be calculated. When parameters are calculated, it is essential that their denotations are widely accepted and used. However, some parameters undergo a certain variability of denotation, which may confuse some readers. Thus, this review summarizes the current published data for experimental pharmacokinetic parameters of metabolites and the calculations involved in simple metabolite pharmacokinetic studies. It also evaluates the most common pharmacokinetic parameters in the literature and suggests metabolite parameters that could be determined to help advance metabolite kinetic models.

The combination of isoniazid (INH), rifampicin (RMP) and pyrazinamide (PYR) is used in the treatment of tuberculosis. Although this treatment is effective in most clinical cases, the side-effects and the development of mycobacterium resistance have hindered its success. There is evidence that the combination of INH, RMP and ciprofloxacin (CIPRO) is useful in the treatment of tuberculosis. However, the influence of this drug combination on the hepatotoxicity of INH is unknown. In this study, the safety of combined INH, RMP and CIPRO was evaluated. Male albino rabbits (n = 20) were divided into four groups and subjected to multiple oral doses for 7 days according to the following treatments: water (group 1); 50 mg/kg INH (group 2); 50 mg/kg INH + 100 mg/kg RMP (group 3) and 50 mg/kg INH + 100 mg/kg RMP + 50 mg/kg CIPRO (group 4). Blood samples were taken before and after treatments for the determination of ALT, AST, ALP and bilirubin to assess hepatotoxicity. For pharmacokinetic analysis, serial blood samples were collected over 24 h on day 7 of treatment. Plasma concentrations of INH and acetylisoniazid (AcINH) were determined by HPLC. Biochemical parameters did not show any statistically significant differences between the groups that received the drug combinations. The pharmacokinetic profile of INH was also similar for both groups of combinations. These findings allow us to infer that the inclusion of CIPRO did not increase the risk of hepatotoxicity when compared with the classic combination of INH and RMP.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-03-18T15:56:03Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2014-08-18Bitstream added on 2015-03-18T16:29:28Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 WOS000341302700089.pdf: 799858 bytes, checksum: d1be8c07fb4f88f06503b9b92110110a (MD5) Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP) National Institute of Science and Technology - Pharmaceutical Innovation (INCT-if) Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de Minas Gerais (FAPEMIG) Plasmodium vivax is the most prevalent of the five species causing malaria in humans. The current available treatment for P. vivax malaria is limited and unsatisfactory due to at least two drawbacks: the undesirable side effects of primaquine (PQ) and drug resistance to chloroquine. Phenylalanine-alanine-PQ (Phe-Ala-PQ) is a PQ prodrug with a more favorable pharmacokinetic profile compared to PQ. The toxicity of this prodrug was evaluated in in vitro assays using a human hepatoma cell line (HepG2), a monkey kidney cell line (BGM), and human red blood cells deficient in the enzyme glucose-6-phosphate-dehydrogenase (G6PD). In addition, in vivo toxicity assays were performed with rats that received multiple doses of Phe-Ala-PQ to evaluate biochemical, hematological, and histopathological parameters. The activity was assessed by the inhibition of the sporogonic cycle using a chicken malaria parasite. Phe-Ala-PQ blocked malaria transmission in Aedes mosquitoes. When compared with PQ, it was less cytotoxic to BGM and HepG2 cells and caused less hemolysis of G6PD-deficient red blood cells at similar concentrations. The prodrug caused less alteration in the biochemical parameters than did PQ. Histopathological analysis of the liver and kidney did show differences between the control and Phe-Ala-PQ-treated groups, but they were not statistically significant. Taken together, the results highlight the prodrug as a novel lead compound candidate for the treatment of P. vivax malaria and as a blocker of malaria transmission. Univ Estadual Paulista UNESP, Fac Ciencias Farm, Dept Principios Ativos Nat & Toxicol, Sao Paulo, Brazil Fiocruz MS, Ctr Pesquisas Rene Rachou, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil Univ Estadual Paulista UNESP, Fac Odontol Araraquara, Dept Fisiol & Patol, Sao Paulo, Brazil Univ Estadual Paulista UNESP, Fac Ciencias Farm, Dept Anal Clin, Sao Paulo, Brazil Univ Estadual Paulista UNESP, Fac Ciencias Farm, Lab Pesquisa & Desenvolvimento Farmacos Lapdesf, Sao Paulo, Brazil Univ Estadual Paulista UNESP, Fac Ciencias Farm, Dept Principios Ativos Nat & Toxicol, Sao Paulo, Brazil Univ Estadual Paulista UNESP, Fac Odontol Araraquara, Dept Fisiol & Patol, Sao Paulo, Brazil Univ Estadual Paulista UNESP, Fac Ciencias Farm, Dept Anal Clin, Sao Paulo, Brazil Univ Estadual Paulista UNESP, Fac Ciencias Farm, Lab Pesquisa & Desenvolvimento Farmacos Lapdesf, Sao Paulo, Brazil FAPESP: 09/51075-5 FAPESP: 11/11239-9