Astonishing Diversity of Natural Peroxides as Potential Therapeutic Agents

Peroxides are an interesting group among biological active natural compounds. These metabolites contain a peroxide group (-O-O-) in which each oxygen atom is bonded to the other oxygen and to another atom. β-Oxygen in hydroperoxide group is considered as more active. Present review describes research on more than 230 natural peroxides isolated from plants, algae, and fungi. Intensive searches for new classes of biologically active metabolites produced by terrestrial and marine origin have resulted in the discovery of dozens of compounds possessing high antimalarial, antibacterial, cytotoxic, and other pharmacological activities as an important source of leads for drug discovery.