Biological Activities of Tetrahydroisoquinolines Derivatives

Abstract

1,2,3,4-Tetrahydroisoquinoline (THIQ) is a common scaffold of many alkaloids isolated from several plants and mammalian species. THIQ derivatives possess a broad spectrum of biological activities, including antitumor, antitubercular, antitrypanosomal, antibacterial, anti-HIV, anti-inflammatory, anti-Alzheimer, and anticonvulsant ones. Aim. To cover updated studies on the biological properties of THIQ derivatives, as well as their structure-activity relationship (SAR), in order to highlight the effect of diverse functional groups responsible for the manifestation of the desired activity. Results and discussion. We have presented the review on biological activities of THIQ. The SAR studies show that the electron-donating, electron-withdrawing and some heterocyclic functional groups on the backbone plays a vital role in modulating the biological potential of the compounds synthesized. Conclusions. This review will help pharmaceutical researchers to synthesize novel and potent compounds containing THIQ scaffold.

Keywords

• tetrahydroisoquinoline
• assessment of biological activity
• structure-activity relationship
• molecular docking