Szabó T, Volk B, Milen M. Recent Advances in the Synthesis of β-Carboline Alkaloids.
Molecules 2021;
26:663. [PMID:
33513936 PMCID:
PMC7866041 DOI:
10.3390/molecules26030663]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2020] [Revised: 01/16/2021] [Accepted: 01/21/2021] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
β-Carboline alkaloids are a remarkable family of natural and synthetic indole-containing heterocyclic compounds and they are widely distributed in nature. Recently, these alkaloids have been in the focus of interest, thanks to their diverse biological activities. Their pharmacological activity makes them desirable as sedative, anxiolytic, hypnotic, anticonvulsant, antitumor, antiviral, antiparasitic or antimicrobial drug candidates. The growing potential inherent in them encourages many researchers to address the challenges of the synthesis of natural products containing complex β-carboline frameworks. In this review, we describe the recent developments in the synthesis of β-carboline alkaloids and closely related derivatives through selected examples from the last 5 years. The focus is on the key steps with improved procedures and synthetic approaches. Furthermore the pharmacological potential of the alkaloids is also highlighted.
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