Cinnamic Acid Derivatives and Their Biological Efficacy

The role played by cinnamic acid derivatives in treating cancer, bacterial infections, diabetes and neurological disorders, among many, has been reported. Cinnamic acid is obtained from cinnamon bark. Its structure is composed of a benzene ring, an alkene double bond and an acrylic acid functional group making it possible to modify the aforementioned functionalities with a variety of compounds resulting in bioactive agents with enhanced efficacy. The nature of the substituents incorporated into cinnamic acid has been found to play a huge role in either enhancing or decreasing the biological efficacy of the synthesized cinnamic acid derivatives. Some of the derivatives have been reported to be more effective when compared to the standard drugs used to treat chronic or infectious diseases in vitro, thus making them very promising therapeutic agents. Compound20displayed potent anti-TB activity, compound27exhibited significant antibacterial activity onS. aureusstrain of bacteria and compounds with potent antimalarial activity are35a,35g,35i,36i, and36b. Furthermore, compounds43d,44o,55g-55p,59e,59gdisplayed potent anticancer activity and compounds86f-hwere active against both hAChE and hBuChE. This review will expound on the recent advances on cinnamic acid derivatives and their biological efficacy.