Indolizidine Alkaloids: Prospective Lead Molecules in Medicinal Chemistry

Natural products are well known for their therapeutic properties. The primary reason for their therapeutic effectiveness is the presence of secondary plant metabolites like alkaloids, glycosides, flavonoids etc. All these metabolites are generally classified as per their chemical structures. Similarly, diversified alkaloids are classified as per the chemical moieties like indole, quinoline, Isoquinoline, indolizine etc. Alkaloids having indolizidine moiety are well known for their biological actions. In this review, indolizidine alkaloids like antofine, castanospermine, swainsonine, tylophorine, gephyrotoxins, lentiginosine, pergularinine etc. and their derivatives have been discussed. Furthermore, important points related to the structure-activity relationship of selected alkaloids are also summarized. All these studies indicate the lead potential of indolizidine alkaloids that in turn could be effective for future drug discovery.