Indolizine: a biologically active moiety

The discovery of camptothecin and its analogs was the major breakthrough through which “Indolizine moiety” came into limelight. Although major part of the research on indolizine derivatives is focused on anticancer drug discovery, these derivatives have also been screened for different biological activities such as antitubercular, antioxidant, antimicrobial, anticancer, and anti-inflammatory activities to name a few. Despite being an important medicinal moiety, a detailed review on the biologically active potential of indolizine derivative is unavailable. To the best of our knowledge, previous reviews on indolizine derivatives mainly focused on their chemistry and synthesis. The present review discusses the versatile nature of indolizine derivatives and their possible mechanism of action. Important SAR points are discussed with each study to highlight the rationale behind the study. Furthermore, the present review also provides information about current/future prospects of the topic and different indolizine derivatives in clinical trials.