Emergence of Benzothiazole and Its Derivatives as a Potential Antidiabetic Probe

Abstract

Development of drugs against diabetes has always remained a big challenge among the medicinal chemists around the globe because of its continuously increasing prevalence worldwide. The emergence of benzothiazole as a prominent lead against diabetes is credited to the development of the aldose reductase inhibitor, Zopolrestat. Since then, there has been a continuous effort to develop benzothiazole derivatives as potential antidiabetic probes, especially in the last two decades. Use of computer aided drug designing tools such as molecular docking and pharmacophore modelling have also played a crucial role in the exploration of efficacy of benzothiazole against other targets for diabetes. In this review, possible targets for benzothiazole against diabetes will be discussed with the brief role each target plays in maintaining the normal blood glucose level in the body. A trend analysis of the emergence of different inhibitors over various intervals of time along with the structure-activity relationship (SAR) studies of benzothiazole as antidiabetic probe is incorporated in the end of the study.