Biguanide scaffold: Chemistry, Stability and Pharmacophoric Features For Drug Discovery

Around the world, biguanides like metformin are often used to treat type-2 diabetes. Biguanides were created as a result of the discovery of guanidine and similar substances in the French lilac plant (Galegaofficinalis L.). Using the common medication metformin, the produced compounds were tested for their anti-diabetic properties. Drugs' mechanisms of action are determined by their electrical and structural makeup. Pharmacophoric feature detection is aided by accurate structural depiction of medications. Although biguanide derivatives are a significant class of pharmaceuticals, little is known about their electrical structure. The most often given medication for type II diabetes and associated conditions is metformin; nonetheless, the lack of structural evidence has hindered molecular understanding of its method or modes of action. Despite being underrepresented, the quantity of "success stories" involving compounds containing biguanides highlights their worth and untapped potential as effective metal ligands or future medications in a variety of therapeutic areas. Many biguanide derivatives, such as 1,1-dimethyl biguanide (metformin), phenylethylbiguanide (phenformin), and N-(4-chlorophenyl)-N0-(isopropyl)-imidodicarbonimidicdiamide (proguanil), are used as antihyperglycemic and antimalarial medications; however, no common mechanism has been proposed for these contentious therapeutic actions.The numerous therapeutic uses of medications containing biguanide groups, including antimalarial, antidiabetic, antiviral, anticancer, antibacterial, antifungal, anti-tubercular, antifilarial, anti-HIV, and other biological activities, are discussed in this review along with the research and development done on biguanides.