In vitro efficacy of synthesized artemisinin derivatives against Leishmania promastigotes.

• Antiplasmodial active artemisinins screened against various Leishmania strains. • Several antipromastigote hits. • Leishmania were less susceptible to artemisinin derivatives than Plasmodia. • Promising anti-coinfection hits. Leishmaniasis is a neglected tropical disease affecting thousands worldwide, especially in developing countries where it co-exists with malaria. Only a handful of drugs are clinically available to treat the disease, but significant limitations threaten their very use. New, safe and effective drugs, including those against malaria-leishmaniasis co-infections, are thus imperative. We assessed the in vitro anti-infective potential of previously synthesized, potent antimalarial artemisinin derivatives. Analogue esters featuring 1,1′-biphenyl and thiophenyl moieties were as much as 30-fold more potent than clinical artemisinins against L. donovani parasites, qualifying them as antipromastigote hits for further investigation in the search for malaria-leishmaniasis co-infection therapies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]