Recent Advances in the Development of Coumarin Derivatives as Antifungal Agents

Abstract

Coumarin is a privileged scaffold found in numerous pharmaceutically important natural products and synthetic molecules. The compounds bearing coumarin moiety exhibit broad spectrum of biological properties such as antibacterial, antiviral, anticancerous, anti-inflammatory, antihyperglycemic, and antipyretic activities. Coumarins are also well-known for their antifungal properties. In recent past, several literature reports have been published which highlight the importance of coumarin motif in the area of antifungal drug development. The present contribution provides an overview of synthetic and natural coumarins which have demonstrated potent antifungal activity, reported during 1992–2017. Structure Activity Relationship (SAR) may help medicinal chemists in the rational design and synthesis of new compounds based on coumarin scaffold for the treatment of fungal infections.