An overview of biochemically characterized drug targets in metabolic pathways of Leishmania parasite

Leishmaniasis is a neglected tropical disease with no effective vaccines to date. Globally, it affects around 14 million people living in undeveloped and developing countries. Leishmania, which is the causative eukaryotic organism, possesses unique enzymes and pathways that deviates from its mammalian hosts. The control strategy against leishmaniasis currently depends on chemotherapeutic methods. But these chemotherapeutic therapies possess several side effects, and therefore, the identification of potential drug targets has become very crucial. Identification of suitable drug targets is necessary to design specific inhibitors that can target and control the parasite. These unique enzymes can be used as possible drug targets after biochemical characterization and understanding the role of these enzymes. In this review, the authors discuss various metabolic pathways that are essential for the survival of the parasite and can be exploited as potential drug targets against leishmaniasis.