IN SEARCH OF NEW LEADS: A CLOSER LOOK AT THE THERAPEUTIC POTENTIAL OF THE CONSTITUENTS OF MILLETTIA THONNINGII, MILLETTIA PACHYCARPA AND THEIR STRUCTURAL ANALOGUES

摘要

This. review. discusses.the.potential.applications.of. isoflavonoids. from. Millettia. thonningii.and. M.. pachycarpa. in.developing.new. pharmaceutical.agents. based. on. folkloric. anecdotes. and. evidences. from. pharmacological. and. biochemical. assays. and. to. encourage. further. research. into. their.pharmacological. applications .. Millettia. thonningii. is. a. deciduous. plant. indigenous. to. tropical. West. Africa,. M.. pachycarpa,.is.a.climbing.shrub.indigenous.to.South‐East.Asia.and.other.species.have.been.used.in.folk‐medicine.for.the.treatment.of.inflammatory.diseases,.chronic.diseases.and.several.pathogenic.diseases..Scientific.research.has.implicated.several.prenylated.isoflavonoids.as.being.useful.antioxidants.and. used. in. the.management.of.radical‐mediated.diseases.such.as.cancer,.diabetes,.ischemic. heart. diseases,. Alzheimer's. and. Parkinson's. diseases.etc..Chemical.investigations. into. these. plants. have. revealed. that. they. contain. several. isoflavonoids. which. bear. structural. resemblance. to. some. of. the.isoflavonoids.already.in.allopathic.medical.usage..Plants.continue.to.maintain.their.historical.stead.as.a.store.house.of.important.drug.candidates.and. source. of. new. "leads". for. synthetic. modifications. to. improve. activity. through. optimization. of. pharmacodynamic. and. pharmacokinetic.properties.. Natural. products. have. also. been. found. useful. in. specific. pharmacological. probes,. a. potential. which. is. grossly. underestimated.. The.alpinumisoflavones. which.have. been. isolated.from. the. Millettia. thonningii. have.shown.high.toxicities.to. the. brine. shrimp.while.isolates. from. M..pachycarpa.have. also. shown. anti‐estrogenic. and. anticancer. properties.. Information. obtained. from. crystal. structural. studies. of. these.alpinumisoflavonoids. coupled. with. their. molecular. and. electronic. distribution. properties. can. further. our. understanding. of. their. therapeutic.potential.and.their.observed.bioactivities..The.alpinumisoflavones.are.characterized.by.a.fused.tricyclic.ring.system.which.contains.nearly.coplanar.benzopyrone.ring.fragments.and.a.puckered.six.membered.pyran.ring.that.adopts.a.half‐chair.conformation.with.inter.and.intra.molecular.O‐H….O.and.C‐H…O.contacts..A.phenyl.ring.attached.to.the.benzopyrone.moiety.shows.out.of.plane.twist.with.various.degrees.of.torsion.depending.on.the