Synthetic Methods, Chemistry and Anticonvulsant Screening of Indoles

Clinically available drugs (95%) for epilepsy treatment were approved before 1985 and they could provide satisfactory seizure control for 60-70% of the patients. These drugs however also cause notable adverse side effects and have life-threatening conditions. Thus, there is constant need for compounds with improved neuropharmacological activities with lower toxicities. Research to find more effective and safer antiepileptic drugs are therefore imperative and challenging in medicinal chemistry. Indole and its derivatives are used in organic synthesis and they are used in evaluating new product that possess different biological activities. Several newer benzfused five membered heterocyclic derivatives based on the pharmacophore models are intended to be synthesized which are expected to possess better anticonvulsant activity with lower neurotoxicity. It is hoped that this book will have wide appeal for undergraduates, postgraduates, and practitioners in the health sciences (e.g., medicine, pharmacy, biomedical sciences, and nursing), and also for those studying pharmacology or specific areas of the natural sciences (e.g., the medicinal chemistry component of a chemistry course).