Abstract
Tetrahydroquinoline and isoquinoline scaffolds are important class of heterocyclic compounds, which is implied for the development of new drugs and diagnostic for therapeutic function. Naturally occurring as well as synthetic tetrahydroquinolines/isoquinolines possess many different biological activities and have been testified as remarkable cytotoxic and potency in human cancer cell lines. Tetrahydroquinoline/isoquinoline based compounds displayed a key role in the development of anticancer drugs or lead molecules and acting through various mechanisms such as cell proliferation, apoptosis, DNA fragmentation, inhibition of tubulin polymerization, induced cell cycle arrest, interruption of cell migration, and modulation. The number of tetrahydroquinoline/isoquinoline derivatives has been reported as potent anticancer agents. Due to promising anticancer activities and wideranging properties of these molecules, we have compiled the literature for the synthesis and anticancer properties of various tetrahydroquinolines and isoquinolines. We have reported the synthesis of potent tetrahydroquinoline/isoquinoline molecules of the last 10 years with their anticancer properties in various cancer cell lines and stated their half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50). In addition, we also considered the discussion of molecular docking and structural activity relationship wherever provided to understand the possible mode of activity a target involved and structural feature responsible for the better activity, so the reader can directly find the detail for designing new anticancer agents.