Recent Advances in the Synthesis of β-Carboline Alkaloids

Szabó, Tímea; Volk, Balázs; Milen, Mátyás

doi:10.3390/molecules26030663

Open AccessReview

Recent Advances in the Synthesis of β-Carboline Alkaloids

by

Tímea Szabó

,

Balázs Volk

and

Mátyás Milen

^*

Egis Pharmaceuticals Plc., Directorate of Drug Substance Development, P.O. Box 100, H-1475 Budapest, Hungary

^*

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Molecules 2021, 26(3), 663; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules26030663

Submission received: 13 November 2020 / Revised: 16 January 2021 / Accepted: 21 January 2021 / Published: 27 January 2021

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nitrogen-Containing Heterocycles as Significant Molecular Scaffolds for Medicinal and Other Applications)

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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.

Keywords: β-carboline; natural products; total synthesis; bioactive molecules

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MDPI and ACS Style

Szabó, T.; Volk, B.; Milen, M. Recent Advances in the Synthesis of β-Carboline Alkaloids. Molecules 2021, 26, 663. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules26030663

AMA Style

Szabó T, Volk B, Milen M. Recent Advances in the Synthesis of β-Carboline Alkaloids. Molecules. 2021; 26(3):663. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules26030663

Chicago/Turabian Style

Szabó, Tímea, Balázs Volk, and Mátyás Milen. 2021. "Recent Advances in the Synthesis of β-Carboline Alkaloids" Molecules 26, no. 3: 663. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules26030663

APA Style

Szabó, T., Volk, B., & Milen, M. (2021). Recent Advances in the Synthesis of β-Carboline Alkaloids. Molecules, 26(3), 663. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules26030663

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Recent Advances in the Synthesis of β-Carboline Alkaloids

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