title: Styryl lactones and their derivatives: biological activities, mechanisms of action and potential leads for drug design.
abstract: Nature is an inexhaustible source of natural compounds with interesting biological activities. In general, natural products are an important source of new compounds with a variety of structural arrangements and singular properties. Styryl lactones are a group of secondary metabolites ubiquitous in the genus Goniothalamus that have demonstrated to possess interesting biological properties, in particular antiproliferative activity against cancer cells. In general, the cytotoxicity of styryl lactones appears to be specific against cancer cells since insignificant effects of these compounds on normal cells are reported. A large body of evidence suggests that the antiproliferative activity of styryl lactones is associated with the induction of apoptosis in target cells. In the first part of this review we discuss the biological activities of styryl lactones focusing on cancer cells, the causal agent of Chagas' disease and the vectors for yellow fever and human lymphatic filariasis. Stru described in detail for ninety styryl lactones. The last part describes the molecular targets of styryl lactones for inducing apoptosis, as well as immunosuppressive and inflammatory processes. Overall, understanding how these compounds exert their activities in biological system is essential for future development and application of styryl lactones for human health.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Química Orgânica, Instituto de Química, UNICAMP, C.P. 6154, Campinas, SP, Brazil. angelo_de_fatima@yahoo.com.br
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: de Fátima
authors.forename: L V
authors.initials: LV
authors.lastname: Modolo
authors.forename: L S
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Conegero
authors.forename: R A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Pilli
authors.forename: C V
authors.initials: CV
authors.lastname: Ferreira
authors.forename: L K
authors.initials: LK
authors.lastname: Kohn
authors.forename: J E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: de Carvalho
mesh_terms: D000972:Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology*; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D015195:Drug Design; D006801:Humans; D007783:Lactones / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology*; D013329:Structure-Activity Relationship
chemical_list: D000972:Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic; D007783:Lactones