Synthesis, Anti-HCV, Antioxidant and Reduction of Intracellular Reactive Oxygen Species Generation of a Chlorogenic Acid Analogue with an Amide Bond Replacing the Ester Bond

Chlorogenic acid is a well known natural product with important bioactivities. It contains an ester bond formed between the COOH of caffeic acid and the 3-OH of quinic acid. We synthesized a chlorogenic acid analogue, 3α-caffeoylquinic acid amide, using caffeic and quinic acids as starting materials. The caffeoylquinc acid amide was found to be much more stable than chlorogenic acid and showed anti-Hepatitis C virus (anti-HCV) activity with a potency similar to chlorogenic acid. The caffeoylquinc acid amide potently protected HepG2 cells against oxidative stress induced by tert-butyl hydroperoxide.

Evolutionary Chemistry Approach toward Finding Novel Inhibitors of the Type 2 Diabetes Target Glucose-6-phosphate Translocase

A genetic algorithm (GA), driven by experimentally determined biological activities as a feedback fitness function, was used to propose novel small molecules as inhibitors of glucose-6-phosphate translocase (G6PT) in iterative rounds of evolutionary optimization. A straightforward polymer-supported synthetic sequence was implemented to synthesize molecules proposed by the GA, and the biological activities of the compounds were determined by a microsomal assay. Additional compound design strategies were integrated, such as Tanimoto similarity-based selection of starting materials and transfer of favored structure elements into a new chemical scaffold to identify more active and selective inhibitors.

Synthesis of amide compounds of ferulic acid, and their stimulatory effects on insulin secretion in vitro

We prepared amide compounds which were derived from ferulic acid using various amines, and investigated their stimulatory effects on insulin secretion using rat pancreatic RIN-5F cells. Most of these compounds exhibited significant promotion of the insulin-release at a concentration of 10 microM and in particular, the amides having n-butyl, n-pentyl, pyrrolidine, and piperidine groups showed high activity.

Studies toward the total synthesis of mumbaistatin, a highly potent glucose-6-phosphate translocase inhibitor. Synthesis of a mumbaistatin analogue

A strategy for the total synthesis of the highly potent glucose-6-phosphate translocase inhibitor mumbaistatin (1) and structural analogues was elaborated. Such compounds represent a lead structure in the development of potential new drugs for the treatment of diabetes. To evaluate the general strategy, the close mumbaistatin analogue 10 was synthesized in a convergent manner. The anthraquinone building block 20 was efficiently prepared via aryne/phthalide annulation. After conversion of 20 into the corresponding 9,10-dimethoxyanthracene-1-carbaldehyde derivative (13), coupling with a lithiated arene (12) and subsequent multiple oxidation under Jones conditions yielded the mumbaistatin analogue 10. The preparation of the functionalized arene intermediates was achieved exploiting highly regioselective bromination and ortho-lithiation reactions.

N,N-dibenzyl-N'-benzylidenehydrazines: potent competitive glucose-6-phosphatase catalytic enzyme inhibitors

A novel class of N,N-dibenzyl-N'-benzylidenehydrazines as potent and competitive glucose-6-phosphatase catalytic site inhibitors are described. Optimisation of this series identified compounds with IC(50) values as low as 170 nM.

Alterations of carbohydrate and lipid intermediary metabolism during inhibition of glucose-6-phosphatase in rats

S 4048 (1-[2-(4-Chloro-phenyl)-cyclopropylmethoxy]-3, 4-dihydroxy-5-(3-imidazo[4, 5-b]pyridin-1-yl-3-phenyl-acryloyloxy)-cyclohexanecarboxylic acid), a derivative of chlorogenic acid, specifically inhibits the glucose-6-phosphate translocating component T1 of the glucose-6-phosphatase system. Its pharmacological effect was studied on carbohydrate and lipid parameters in rats. In starved and fed rats, S 4048 caused a dose-dependent reduction of blood glucose levels with a corresponding increase in hepatic and renal glycogen and glucose-6-phosphate. The major quantitative route of carbon flux in the liver during S 4048-induced inhibition of the glucose-6-phosphatase activity seemed to be glycogenesis. Plasma free fatty acids were increased secondarily due to the S 4048-induced hypoglycemia. Hepatic triglycerides were increased possibly due to increased re-esterification of the readily available free fatty acids. Glucose-6-phosphate translocase inhibitors may be useful for experimentally studying aspects of type 1 glycogen storage disease in laboratory animals as well as for the therapeutic modulation of inappropriately high rates of hepatic glucose production in type 2 diabetes.