Current Topics in Medicinal Chemistry - Volume 25, Issue 24, 2025

Liver cancer is the sixth most commonly diagnosed cancer globally, accounting for approximately 50% of all diagnosed cases and associated mortalities. The principal therapeutic strategies for liver cancer presently include surgical intervention, radiotherapy, and laser ablation therapies. All these therapies are effective for liver cancer at an early stage and have limited efficacy for advanced-stage cancer due to severe side effects and drug resistance. The plant-derived natural product, i.e. phyto-constituents, has been evaluated as a potential anticancer drug due to low side effects and antitumor efficacy. Many studies support the effectiveness of active phytoconstituents found in various plants such as garlic, turmeric, tomatoes, grapes, pomegranates, plums, black currants, French beans, cruciferous vegetables, ginger, and asparagus. These plants are reported to have very diversified groups of compounds such as alkaloids, flavonoids, phenolics, terpenoids, coumarin, etc., attributed to medicinal values and biological activities such as antiviral, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, etc. These plants provide important nutrients and help to maintain health, thereby reducing the risk of disease. Almost 50 drugs are directly or indirectly derived from natural sources because of minimum side effects and diversified chemical compounds. In this review, the anticancer properties of edible plants-derived phytomolecules, such as glycyrrhizin, triptolide, celastrol, berberine hydrochloride, curcumin, stilbenes, etc., against Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC) are discussed in detail. Phytomolecules discussed in this review for HCC could be promising leads or drugs as anticancer agents from economical and easily available plant sources.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is the most prevalent form of inflammatory arthritis, characterized by chronic inflammation of the synovial membrane. Current therapeutic options have advanced RA management significantly, yet limitations like adverse effects and treatment resistance underscore the need for novel therapeutic agents. Recent advancements have introduced promising candidates, including BTK inhibitors, JAK inhibitors, TLR4 inhibitors, COX-2 inhibitors, and LOX inhibitors, which target specific pathways implicated in RA pathogenesis. This manuscript provides a comprehensive overview of RA, emphasizing its pathophysiology, diagnostic approaches, and therapeutic strategies. Special attention is given to the structural-activity relationships (SAR) and mechanistic insights underlying emerging pharmacological interventions. Moreover, current challenges and future directions in RA drug discovery are critically examined, highlighting innovative wet-lab approaches to address unmet clinical needs.

Alzheimer is a progressive neurodegenerative disease characterized by change in brain that led to the buildup of specific proteins, ultimately causing brain shrinkage and the death of brain cells. It is the leading cause of dementia, manifesting as a gradual decline in memory, cognitive abilities, behavior, and social functioning, which severely impairs a person’s ability to carry out daily activities. The complexity of Alzheimer’s poses significant challenges to modern medicine, making the development of new therapeutic strategies crucial. Indole derivatives, with their broad spectrum of pharmacological activities, have garnered attention for their potential in treating Alzheimer’s disease. This review provides a detailed summary of recent progress in developing indole derivatives as therapeutic agents for Alzheimer's disease. It thoroughly examines the pharmacological properties of various indole derivatives, including their mechanisms of action. These compounds have been shown to influence several processes, such as amyloid-beta aggregation, MAO inhibition, AChE and BuChE inhibition. Furthermore, this review discusses the structural modifications of indole derivatives designed to improve their therapeutic effectiveness.

Sodium‒glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors have become viable therapeutic options for treating breast cancer. Diabetes is the primary source of these medications. This research examines how SGLT2 blockers can induce apoptosis, decrease the amount of glucose taken up by cancer cells, and modify key signaling pathways, such as the PI3K/AKT/mTOR and MAPK pathways. The effects of four different SGLT2 inhibitors on breast cancer cells were investigated in this study via both in vitro and in vivo testing: dapagliflozin, ipragliflozin, canagliflozin, and empagliflozin. The potential synergistic effects of these inhibitors with conventional chemotherapy medications were also examined. This review explores the complex relationship between SGLT2 inhibitors and breast cancer, examining how drugs interact with this disease at various stages of its development. Additionally, this study highlights how SGLT2 inhibitors may be used in conjunction with precision medicine techniques to treat breast cancer. Although encouraging outcomes have been noted, this review highlights the necessity of additional clinical studies to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of SGLT2 blockers in patients with breast cancer, in addition to ongoing research into the molecular mechanisms underlying the anticancer effects of these drugs.