The benzimidazole anthelmintics--chemistry and biological activity.

Abstract

Although benzimidazole is one of the oldest and chemically well-studied nitrogen heterocyclics, it has been quite lately recognized as the versatile nucleus for building molecules possessing broad spectrum of biological activity. The polyfunctionality associated with benzimidazole nucleus, the ease to carry out various organic reactions and its association with bio-molecules stimulated several laboratories of the world to explore its synthetic and biological avenues. This, not only, disclosed various fascinating aspects of benzimidazole chemistry but also led to the synthesis of a large variety of benzimidazole derivatives of which many have been demonstrated to exhibit powerful anthelmintic, antimicrobial, pesticidal, anticancer and pharmcological activities. Among the above areas of drug research, a newer dimension has been given to the chemotherapy of helminthiasis where modern drug design is chiefly directed towards searching potent veterinary and human anthelmintics derived from benzimidazoles.KeywordsAdult WormBenzimidazole DerivativeGastrointestinal NematodeAnthelmintic ActivitySodium Hydro sUlfideThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.