Febrifugine and its analogs: studies for their antimalarial and other therapeutic properties

Abstract

Malaria remains one of the major infectious diseases in the tropical region because of the development of resistance by the causal organism in response to the existing drugs. It motivated intensive research to discover drugs having novel structures and mechanisms from the natural sources. Several compounds isolated from natural sources are found to possess antimalarial properties. Febrifugine is one of such compounds first isolated from Dichroa febrifuga, a plant traditionally used for antimalarial recipe in China and other parts of Asia. This alkaloid has potent antimalarial properties; however, its clinical usage is impeded by presence of adverse effects and toxicity associated. Now, attention has been provided to synthesis of febrifugine analogs having therapeutic potentials with low toxicity to control malaria. In addition to it, potential applications of febrifugine analogs in controlling cancer and fibrotic diseases have been demonstrated. This chapter provides an overview of the febrifugine and its different analogs for their antimalarial and other therapeutic properties with special reference to their structure–activity relationships