A twenty-year journey exploring coumarin-based derivatives as bioactive molecules

Front Chem. 2022 Oct 10:10:1002547. doi: 10.3389/fchem.2022.1002547. eCollection 2022.

Abstract

The coumarin core (i.e., 1-benzopyran-2 (2H)-one) is a structural motif highly recurrent in both natural products and bioactive molecules. Indeed, depending on the substituents and branching positions around the byciclic core, coumarin-containing compounds have shown diverse pharmacological activities, ranging from anticoagulant activities to anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, anti-HIV and antitumor effects. In this survey, we have reported the main scientific results of the 20-years investigation on the coumarin core, exploited by the research group headed by Prof. Angelo Carotti (Bari, Italy) either as a scaffold or a pharmacophore moiety in designing novel biologically active small molecules.

Keywords: cancer; cholinesterases; coumarin; monoamine oxidases; neurodegeneration.

Publication types

  • Review