Shikimic acid as intermediary model for the production of drugs effective against influenza virus

This chapter explains the application of shikimic acid as preventive medicine for the outbreak of swine or Avian flu due to H1N1 virus. Shikimic acid (3,4,5-trihydroxy-1-cyclohexene-1-carboxylic acid), a natural organic compound, is generally utilized as a starting material for industrial synthesis of the antiviral oseltamivir, a drug against the H1N1 influenza virus. It is also an important intermediate in the biosynthesis of lignin, aromatic amino acids (phenylalanine, tyrosine, and tryptophan), and most alkaloids of plants and microorganisms. Plant and microbial sources are the only sources of shikimic acid. Being a deadly viral disease, influenza causes the death of around half a million people each year. A neuraminidase present on the surface of the virus is the most important factor for viral reproduction by contributing to the release of viruses from infected host cells and hence the treatment of influenza can only be possible by neuraminidase inhibitors. The neuraminidase inhibitors oseltamivir or Tamiflu derived from shikimic acid pathway have been found to be potent influenza viral neuraminidase inhibitors against most influenza strains.