Medicinal Chemistry

Cancer is a life threatening condition. Though it has been immensely studied in the field of medical research, not all attempts have been fruitful. More than half the people diagnosed with cancer receive chemotherapy. One such effective discovery leads to Paclitaxel, a Pacific Yew tree isolate. This review makes attempt at understanding a few advancements in cancer treatment using Paclitaxel since its discovery. We await the discovery of many such compounds which make an impact in cancer treatment. This review tried to discuss the various research using Paclitaxel and its efficacy against various types of cancers and stresses on the need for the research in the field of Cancer Chemotherapy.

The roles played by classical and non-classical opioid receptors and their ligands in cancer are reviewed, starting with palliation of pain as the traditional linkage, then summarizing current research topics and clinical trials in cancer imaging and therapy, and concluding with a perspective on future directions for the field.

Leptadenia hastata (Pers.) Decne is often used traditionally for hypertension, catarrh, skin diseases, woundhealing, prostate complaints and as an aphrodisiac. In traditional systems of medicine, different parts are used including the leaves, latex, roots and even whole plant. Leptadenia hastata is reported to contain alkaloids, saponins, phenolic glycosides, tannins, flavonoids, proanthocyanidins and triterpenes. This review describes the medicinal properties, chemical constituents, and other important aspects of Leptadenia hastata.

There has been considerable interest in the development of new molecule with antibacterial activities particularly against tuberclosis because mycobacterium species have developed resistant against currently used drugs, their toxic effect and long duration of therapy. The diazine (pyridazine, pyrimidine and piperazine) derivatives possess an important class of compound for new drugs research and development. Therefore, many researchers have synthesized these compounds as target structures and evaluated their antitubercular activity. These observations have been guiding for the development of new molecules that possess potent antitubercular activity with minimum side effects or effective against MDR, XDR mycobacterium strains, and also in patient co-infected with HIV/AIDS.