Naphthylisoquinoline alkaloids potential drug leads.

Naphthylisoquinolines are a group of structurally diverse secondary metabolites, consisting of naphthalene and isoquinoline moieties. Naturally occurring naphthylisoquinolines have so far been found only in the small palaeotropic families Dioncophyllaceae and Ancistrocladaceae. They have been shown to exhibit a diverse array of biological activities. Herein, we review the research on the occurrence, isolation, identification, biological activities, and biosynthesis of this class of compounds published from 1995 till now. Moreover, their chemotaxonomic relevance and molecular targets of action have been discussed. More than 125 metabolites are described and 99 references are cited.