A Comprehensive Review of Glycosides as Pharmacologically Active Agents and their Representation in Global Pharmacopoeias
Ricarte Tavares
Programa de Pós-Graduação em Química, Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco, Dois Irmão, Recife, 52171-900, Pernambuco, Brazil.
Maria Helena Pires Souza de Andrade
Programa de Pós-Graduação em Química, Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco, Dois Irmão, Recife, 52171-900, Pernambuco, Brazil.
Leonardo Alexandre Barros Bezerra
Programa de Pós-Graduação em Química, Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco, Dois Irmão, Recife, 52171-900, Pernambuco, Brazil.
Jucleiton José Rufino de Freitas
Unidade Acadêmica do Cabo de Santo Agostinho, Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco, Cohab, Cabo de Santo Agostinho, 54518-430, Pernambuco, Brazil.
Clécio Souza Ramos
Programa de Pós-Graduação em Química, Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco, Dois Irmão, Recife, 52171-900, Pernambuco, Brazil.
Mônica Freire Belian
Programa de Pós-Graduação em Química, Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco, Dois Irmão, Recife, 52171-900, Pernambuco, Brazil.
João Rufino de Freitas Filho
*
Programa de Pós-Graduação em Química, Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco, Dois Irmão, Recife, 52171-900, Pernambuco, Brazil.
Jonatas Tavares da Silva
Education and Health Center, Federal University of Campina Grande, Cuité-PB, Brazil.
Alécia Regina Andresa Silva
Education and Health Center, Federal University of Campina Grande, Cuité-PB, Brazil.
Drielly Emanoele Tomé Barros de Oliveria
Education and Health Center, Federal University of Campina Grande, Cuité-PB, Brazil.
Juliano Carlo Rufino de Freitas
Education and Health Center, Federal University of Campina Grande, Cuité-PB, Brazil.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Glycosides are used as medicines and have various pharmacological properties. They are also widely known as components of crude drugs. Therefore, this work aimed to review the literature on glycosides used as medicines by different pharmacopoeias such as United States Pharmacopoeia (USP), Japanese Pharmacopoeia (JP), FB (Brazilian Pharmacopoeia), and Brazilian Homoeopathic Pharmacopoeia (HP). This review summarizes, in the period 2006-2024, the glycoside drugs that have been recorded in several pharmacopoeias, marketed, and under development based on the internal characteristics of carbohydrates. Thus, a bibliographic survey was carried out in the Web of Science database in May 2024, using the keywords “glycosides as medicines" and pharmacopoeia, where the growing number of studies involving the use of glycosides as medicines was noted in this period. On the other hand, glycosides are significant in modern drug development due to their diverse therapeutic potential. They serve as leads for new drugs, with ongoing research exploring their use in oncology, antiviral therapies, and neurodegenerative diseases, and their potential to be more effective and safer than existing treatments. There is a wide range of medicinal applications, such as antineoplastic, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antiretroviral, antiviral, antiulcer, antioxidant, and antiarrhythmic, among others. Thus, it appears that glycosides are an important source of study for the development of new drugs.
Keywords: Glycosides, pharmacopoeia, medicines, glycosylated drugs