Tetralone Scaffolds and Their Potential Therapeutic Applications

Substituted tetralones have played a substantial role in organic synthesis due to their strong reactivity and suitability as a starting material for a range of synthetic heterocyclic compounds, pharmaceuticals along with biological activities as well as precursors of many natural products and their derivatives. Many α-tetralone derivatives are building blocks that have been used in the synthesis of therapeutically functional compounds like some antibiotics, antidepressants, acetylcholinesterase inhibitors effective for treating Alzheimer’s disease and alkaloids possessing antitumor activity. In this review, there has been an attempt to explore the small molecule library having an α-tetralone scaffold along with their diverse biological activities. Structural features of α- tetralone derivatives responsible for potential therapeutic applications are also described.