Pharmacological perspectives and molecular mechanisms of coumarin derivatives against virus disease

Infections caused by virus are one of the foremost causes of morbidity and mortality in the world. Although a number of antiviral drugs are currently used for treatment of various kinds of viral infection diseases, there is still no available therapeutic agent for the most of virus in clinical practice. Coumarin is a chemical compound which is found naturally in a variety of plants, as well as it can be synthetically produced possessing diverse biological effects. More recently, reports have highlighted the potential role of coumarin derivatives as antiviral agents. This review outlines the advances in coumarin-based compounds against various viruses including human immunodeficiency virus, hepatitis virus, herpes simplex virus, Chikungunya virus and Enterovirus 71, the structure activity relationship and the possible mechanism of action of the most potent coumarin derivatives are also discussed.