Skimmianine: Natural Occurrence, Biosynthesis, Synthesis, Pharmacology and Pharmacokinetics

For years, plant materials collected from members of the family Rutaceae have been the subject of various phytochemical and pharmacological studies. In such works, skimmianine (SM) is a secondary metabolite type furoquinoline alkaloid, which can be seen as a major component available in medicinal plants of the family Rutaceae. Although there have been numerous phytochemical and biological experiments, a brief review of this compound is insufficient.

The current review with the most aim is to provide information on its natural occurrence, structural features, biosynthesis, synthesis, pharmacological values, and pharmacokinetic action.

The list of references was gathered from the following databases: Google Scholar, Pub- Med, Scopus, Web of Science, Science Direct, and Medline. In the meantime, "skimmianine" either alone, or combined "phytochemistry", "biosynthesis", "synthesis", "pharmacology", and "pharmacokinetics" was taken into consideration, to search for references.

Accumulative evidence indicated that many Rutaceae plants, such as genus Zanthoxylum, were associated with the presence of alkaloid SM. Biosynthesis of organic hetero-tricyclic compound SM started from anthranilic acid, whereas its short synthetic steps were initially derived from 2,4,7,8- tetramethoxyquinoline. SM established a great role in pharmaceutical aspect since it possessed antimicrobial, antiparasitic, antiinsect, antiplatelet, antidiabetic, antiviral, cholinesterase inhibitory, analgesic, cardiovascular, and estrogenic activities, especially cytotoxicity and anti-inflammatory activity. Pharmacokinetic progress of SM in rats mostly involved the changes of double bond C2-C3 and methoxy groups.

Pharmacological properties justify its usage in drug development. However, some aspects, such as the extensive mechanism of action, structure-activity relationship, toxicological, and clinical studies, demand more research.