Oxazoles are heterocyclic aromatic compounds containing one oxygen atom and one nitrogen atom, separated by a carbon atom. The presence of two heteroatoms (oxygen and nitrogen) provides possible interactions (hydrogen, hydrophobic, van der Waals or dipole bonds) with a wide range of receptors and enzymes. Oxazole rings are valuable heterocyclic scaffolds for the design of novel therapeutics with anticancer, antiviral, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, neuroprotective, antidiabetic, and antidepressant properties due to their wide range of targets and biological activities.
Coumarin occurs naturally in a variety of plants, such as lentils, sweet sawdust, vanilla grass, and sweet grass. Coumarin has a simple structure, benzopyrone, associated with different reaction centers. Coumarins are further subdivided into different classes: simple coumarins, pyranocoumarins, furanocoumarins, dicoumarins and isocoumarins. Coumarin derivatives are an important class of natural plant metabolites with various biological activities. They can also be synthesized artificially, and various synthetic coumarin derivatives (azoles, sulfonyls, furans, pyrazoles, etc.) have shown good anticancer, antitumor and antiproliferative activities. Coumarin derivatives are not only effective anticancer agents, but also possess minimum side effects. Based on different substitution patterns, these potential active substances show a great ability to modulate potential anticancer activities.