Nitric oxide modulators: an emerging class of medicinal agents

Nitric oxide, a unique messenger in biological system, is ubiquitously present virtually in all tissues revealing its versatile nature of being involved in diverse physiological functions such as vascular tone, inhibition of platelet aggregation, cell adhesion, neurotransmission and enzyme and immune regulation. The tremendous advancements made in the past few decades in this area suggests that the nitric oxide modulation either by its exogenous release through nitric oxide donors or inhibition of its synthesis by nitric oxide synthase inhibitors in physiological milieu may provide newer clinical strategies for the treatment of some diseases. In this review, an attempt is made to document and understand the biological chemistry of different classes of nitric oxide modulators that would prove to be a fruitful area in the years to come.