Buparvaquone is a

naphthoquinone Naphthoquinones constitute a class of organic compounds structurally related to naphthalene. Two isomers are common for the parent naphthoquinones: * 1,2-Naphthoquinone * 1,4-Naphthoquinone Natural products * Alkannin * Hexahydroxy-1,4-napht ...

antiprotozoal Antiprotozoal agents ( ATC code: ATC P01) is a class of pharmaceuticals used in treatment of protozoan infection. A paraphyletic group, protozoans have little in common with each other. For example, ''Entamoeba histolytica'', a unikont eukaryotic ...

drug related to atovaquone. It is a promising compound for the therapy and prophylaxis of all forms of theileriosis. Buparvaquone has been shown to have anti-

leishmania ''Leishmania'' is a parasitic protozoan, a single-celled organism of the genus '' Leishmania'' that are responsible for the disease leishmaniasis. They are spread by sandflies of the genus ''Phlebotomus'' in the Old World, and of the genus '' ...

l activity ''in vitro''. It can be used to treat bovine

East Coast fever East Coast fever, also known as theileriosis, is a disease of cattle which occurs in Africa and is caused by the protozoan parasite ''Theileria parva''. The primary vector which spreads ''T. parva'' between cattle is a tick, ''Rhipicephalus appe ...

protozoa ''in vitro'', along with the only other substance known – ''

Peganum harmala ''Peganum harmala'', commonly called wild rue, Syrian rue, African rue, esfand or espand,Mahmoud OmidsalaEsfand: a common weed found in Persia, Central Asia, and the adjacent areasEncyclopedia Iranica Vol. VIII, Fasc. 6, pp. 583–584. Originall ...

''. It is the only really effective commercial therapeutic product against bovine theileriosis, where it has been used since the late 1980s.

Industrial production

It was first produced in

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

, then in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. Its patent expired in the mid-2000s, and was then produced in different countries, e.g.,

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

and

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

Use in bovine theileriosis

Using a single dose of 2,5 mg/kg, the recovery rate of curable cases is 90 to 98%. In

tropical theileriosis Tropical theileriosis or Mediterranean theileriosis is a theileriosis of cattle from the Mediterranean and Middle East area, from Morocco to Western parts of India and China. It is a tick-borne disease, caused by ''Theileria annulata''. The vect ...

, a dosage of 2.0 mg/kg has the same efficacy. Body temperature returns to normal in two to five days. Parasitemia lowers from 12% on day 0 to 5% the next day, then to 1% by day 5 and none at day 7.

Molecular target

Buparvaquone resistance appears to be associated with parasite mutations in the Q_o quinone-binding site of mitochondrial

cytochrome b Cytochrome b within both molecular and cell biology, is a protein found in the mitochondria of eukaryotic cells. It functions as part of the electron transport chain and is the main subunit of transmembrane cytochrome bc1 and b6f complexes. F ...

. Its mode of action is thus likely to be similar to that of the antimalarial drug atovaquone, a similar 2-hydroxy-1,4-naphthoquinone that binds to the Q_o site of cytochrome b thus inhibiting

Coenzyme Q – cytochrome c reductase The coenzyme Q : cytochrome ''c'' – oxidoreductase, sometimes called the cytochrome ''bc''1 complex, and at other times complex III, is the third complex in the electron transport chain (), playing a critical role in biochemical generation ...

References

Antiprotozoal agents {{antimicrobial-stub