Ferulic acid derivatives with piperazine moiety as potential antiviral agents

The Antioxidant Properties, Metabolism, Application and Mechanism of Ferulic Acid in Medicine, Food, Cosmetics, Livestock and Poultry

Ferulic acid is a ubiquitous ingredient in cereals, vegetables, fruits and Chinese herbal medicines. Due to the ferulic phenolic nucleus coupled to an extended side chain, it readily forms a resonant-stable phenoxy radical, which explains its potent antioxidant potential. In addition, it also plays an important role in anti-cancer, pro-angiogenesis, anti-thrombosis, neuroprotection, food preservation, anti-aging, and improving the antioxidant performance of livestock and poultry. This review provides a comprehensive summary of the structure, mechanism of antioxidation, application status, molecular mechanism of pharmacological activity, existing problems, and application prospects of ferulic acid and its derivatives. The aim is to establish a theoretical foundation for the utilization of ferulic acid in medicine, food, cosmetics, livestock, and poultry.

Ferulic Acid Dimers as Potential Antiviral Agents by Inhibiting TMV Self-Assembly

A series of ferulic acid dimers were designed, synthesized, and evaluated for anti-TMV activity. Biological assays demonstrated that compounds A6, E3, and E5 displayed excellent inactivating against tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) with EC50 values of 62.8, 94.4, and 85.2 μg mL-1, respectively, which were superior to that of ningnanmycin (108.1 μg mL-1). Microscale thermophoresis indicated that compounds A6, E3, and E5 showed strong binding capacity to TMV coat protein with binding affinity values of 1.862, 3.439, and 2.926 μM, respectively. Molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulation revealed that compound A6 could firmly bind to the TMV coat protein through hydrogen and hydrophobic bonds. Transmission electron microscopy and self-assembly experiments indicated that compound A6 obviously destroyed the integrity of the TMV particles and blocked the virus from infecting the host. This study revealed that A6 can be used as a promising leading structure for the development of antiviral agents by inhibiting TMV self-assembly.

Synthesis, biological evaluation, and molecular docking of novel ferulic acid derivatives containing a 1,3,4-oxadiazole thioether and trifluoromethyl pyrimidine skeleton

In this study, 24 novel ferulic acid derivatives containing 1,3,4-oxadiazole thioether and trifluoromethyl pyrimidine were designed and synthesized. Bioactivity assay showed that some of the target compounds exhibited moderate to good antifungal activity against Botryosphaeria dothidea BD), Phomopsis sp. (PS), Botrytis cinerea (BC), Fusarium spp. (FS), Fusarium graminearum (FG), and Colletotrichum sp. (CS). Especially, compound 6f demonstrated superior antifungal activity against Phomopsis sp., with an EC50 value of 12.64 μg mL-1, outperforming pyrimethanil (35.16 μg mL-1) and hymexazol (27.01 μg mL-1). Meanwhile, compound 6p showed strong antibacterial activity against X. axonopodis pv. citri (XAC) in vitro, with an inhibition ratio of 85.76%, which was higher than thiodiazole copper's 76.59% at 100 μg mL-1. Furthermore, molecular docking simulations elucidated that compound 6f engaged in hydrogen bonding with the succinate dehydrogenase (SDH) enzyme at SER-17, SER-39, ARG-14 and ARG-43 sites, clarifying its mode of action. This study highlights the potential of these novel ferulic acid derivatives as promising agents for controlling fungal and bacterial threats to plant health. To the best of our knowledge, this study represents the first report on the antifungal and antibacterial properties of ferulic acid derivatives containing 1,3,4-oxadiazole thioether and trifluoromethyl pyrimidine skeleton.

Repurposing Study of 4-Acyl-1-phenylaminocarbonyl-2-substituted-piperazine Derivatives as Potential Anticancer Agents-In Vitro Evaluation against Breast Cancer Cells

Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer in women. Although current treatments can increase patient survival, they are rarely curative when the disease is advanced (metastasis). Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop new cytotoxic drugs with a high selectivity toward cancer cells. Since repurposing approved drugs for cancer therapy has been a successful strategy in recent years, in this study, we screened a library of antiviral piperazine-derived compounds as anticancer agents. The compounds included a piperazine ring and aryl urea functions, which are privileged structures present in several anti-breast cancer drugs. The selective cytotoxic activity of a set of thirty-four 4-acyl-2-substituted piperazine urea derivatives against MCF7 breast cancer cells and MCF 10A normal breast cells was determined. Compounds 31, 32, 35, and 37 showed high selective anticancer activity against breast cancer cells and were also tested against another common type of cancer, non-small cell lung cancer (A549 lung cancer cells versus MRC-5 lung normal cells). Compounds 35 and 37 also showed selectivity against lung cancer cells. These results suggest that compounds 35 and 37 may be promising hit compounds for the development of new anticancer agents.

Discovery of novel phenothiazine derivatives as new agrochemical alternatives for treating plant viral diseases

BACKGROUND

Plant viral diseases, namely 'plant cancer', are extremely difficult to control. Even worse, few antiviral agents can effectively control and totally block viral infection. There is an urgent need to explore and discover novel agrochemicals with high activity and a unique mode of action to manage these refractory diseases.

RESULTS

Forty-one new phenothiazine derivatives were prepared and their inhibitory activity against tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) was assessed. Compound A8 had the highest protective activity against TMV, with a half-maximal effective concentration (EC50 ) of 115.67 μg/mL, which was significantly better than that of the positive controls ningnanmycin (271.28 μg/mL) and ribavirin (557.47 μg/mL). Biochemical assays demonstrated that compound A8 could inhibit TMV replication by disrupting TMV self-assembly, but also enabled the tobacco plant to enhance its defense potency by increasing the activities of various defense enzymes.

CONCLUSION

In this study, novel phenothiazine derivatives were elaborately fabricated and showed remarkable anti-TMV behavior that possessed the dual-action mechanisms of inhibiting TMV assembly and invoking the defense responses of tobacco plants. Moreover, new agrochemical alternatives based on phenothiazine were assessed for their antiviral activities and showed extended agricultural application. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry.

Trifluoromethylpyridine piperazine derivatives: synthesis and anti-plant virus activity

BACKGROUND

The cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) is well-known for its expansive host range and distribution, resulting in a detrimental effect on agricultural production, thus making it imperative to implement measures for its control.

RESULTS

Novel compounds S1-S28 were synthesized by connecting trifluoromethyl pyridine, amide and piperazine scaffolds. Bioassays indicated that most of the synthesized compounds exhibited good curative effects against CMV, with half maximal effective concentration (EC₅₀ ) values of compounds S1, S2, S7, S8, S10, S11, S15, and S28 being 119.6, 168.9, 197.6, 169.1, 97.9, 73.9, 224.4, and 125.2 μg mL^-1 , respectively, which were lower than the EC₅₀ of ningnanmycin (314.7 μg mL^-1 ). Compounds S5 and S8 exhibited protective activities with EC₅₀ of 170.8 and 95.0 μg mL^-1 , respectively, which were lower than ningnanmycin at 171.4 μg mL^-1 . The inactivation activities of S6 and S8 at 500 μg mL^-1 were remarkably high at 66.1% and 78.3%, respectively, surpassing that of ningnanmycin (63.5%). Additionally, their EC₅₀ values were more favorable at 22.2 and 18.1 μg mL^-1 , respectively, than ningnanmycin (38.4 μg mL^-1 ). And molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulation showed compound S8 had better binding with CMV-coat protein, providing a possible explanation for the anti-CMV activity of compound S8.

CONCLUSIONS

Compound S8 showed a strong binding affinity to CMV-coat protein and impacted the self-assemble of CMV particles. Compound S8 could be a potential lead compound for discovering a new anti-plant virus candidate. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry.

Rational Design of Multifunctional Ferulic Acid Derivatives Aimed for Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Diseases

Ferulic acid has numerous beneficial effects on human health, which are frequently attributed to its antioxidant behavior. In this report, many of them are reviewed, and 185 new ferulic acid derivatives are computationally designed using the CADMA-Chem protocol. Consequently, their chemical space was sampled and evaluated. To that purpose, selection and elimination scores were used, which are built from a set of descriptors accounting for ADME properties, toxicity, and synthetic accessibility. After the first screening, 12 derivatives were selected and further investigated. Their potential role as antioxidants was predicted from reactivity indexes directly related to the formal hydrogen atom transfer and the single electron transfer mechanisms. The best performing molecules were identified by comparisons with the parent molecule and two references: Trolox and α-tocopherol. Their potential as polygenic neuroprotectors was investigated through the interactions with enzymes directly related to the etiologies of Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases. These enzymes are acetylcholinesterase, catechol-O-methyltransferase, and monoamine oxidase B. Based on the obtained results, the most promising candidates (FA-26, FA-118, and FA-138) are proposed as multifunctional antioxidants with potential neuroprotective effects. The findings derived from this investigation are encouraging and might promote further investigations on these molecules.

Design, Synthesis, and Anti-PVY Biological Activity of 1,3,5-Triazine Derivatives Containing Piperazine Structure

In this study, a commercial agent with antivirus activity and moroxydine hydrochloride were employed to perform a lead optimization. A series of 1,3,5-triazine derivatives with piperazine structures were devised and synthesized, and an evaluation of their anti-potato virus Y (PVY) activity revealed that several of the target compounds possessed potent anti-PVY activity. The synthesis of compound C35 was directed by a 3D-quantitative structure-activity relationship that used the compound's structural parameters. The assessment of the anti-PVY activity of compound C35 revealed that its curative, protective, and inactivation activities (53.3 ± 2.5%, 56.9 ± 1.5%, and 85.8 ± 4.4%, respectively) were comparable to the positive control of ningnanmycin (49.1 ± 2.4%, 50.7 ± 4.1%, and 82.3 ± 6.4%) and were superior to moroxydine hydrochloride (36.7 ± 2.7%, 31.4 ± 2.0%, and 57.1 ± 1.8%). In addition, molecular docking demonstrated that C35 can form hydrogen bonds with glutamic acid at position 150 (GLU 150) of PVY CP, providing a partial theoretical basis for the antiviral activity of the target compounds.

Piperazine Derivatives Containing the α-Ketoamide Moiety Discovered as Potential Anti-Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus Agents

A total of 35 piperazine derivatives were designed and synthesized, and their activities against tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV) were evaluated systematically. Compounds 34 and 35 with significant anti-TSWV activity were obtained. Their EC₅₀ values were 62.4 and 59.9 μg/mL, prominently better than the control agents ningnanmycin (113.7 μg/mL) and ribavirin (591.1 μg/mL). To explore the mechanism of the interaction between these compounds and the virus, we demonstrated by agrobacterium-mediated, molecular docking, and microscale thermophoresis (MST) experimental methods that compounds 34 and 35 could inhibit the infection of TSWV by binding with the N protein to prevent the assembly of the virus core structure ribonucleoprotein (RNP), and it also meant that the arginine at 94 of the N protein was the key site of interaction between the compounds and the TSWV N target. Therefore, this study demonstrated the potential for forming antiviral agents from piperazine derivatives containing α-ketoamide moieties.

Novel 1-Indanone derivatives containing oxime and oxime ether moieties as immune activator to resist plant virus

BACKGROUND

Vegetable viruses are difficult to prevent and control in the field, causing massive economic losses of agricultural production in the world. A new natural product-based antiviral agent would be an effective means to control viral diseases. As a class of natural products, 1-indanones present various pharmacologically actives, while their application in agriculture remains to be found.

RESULTS

A series of novel 1-indanone derivatives were designed and synthesized and the antiviral activities were systematically evaluated. Bioassays showed that most compounds exhibited good protective activities against cucumber mosaic virus (CMV), tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV), and pepper mild mottle virus (PMMoV). Notably, compound 27 exhibited the best protective effects against PMMoV with EC₅₀ values of 140.5 mg L^-1 , superior to ninanmycin (245.6 mg L^-1 ). Compound 27 induced immunity responses through multilayered regulation on mitogen-activated protein kinase, plant hormone signal transduction and phenylpropanoid biosynthesis pathways.

CONCLUSION

These 1-indanone derivatives especially compound 27 can be considered as potential immune activators to resist plant virus. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry.

Novel Cyclized Derivatives of Ferulic Acid as Potential Antiviral Agents through Activation of Photosynthesis

To further develop new antiviral agents, several novel cyclized derivatives of ferulic acid were designed and synthesized. Their antiviral activities were evaluated against the cucumber mosaic virus (CMV), pepper mild mottle virus (PMMoV), and tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV). The results showed that some ferulic acid derivatives exhibited desirable antiviral activities. Particularly, compound 5e exhibited excellent protective activities against CMV, PMMoV, and TSWV, with EC₅₀ values of 167.2, 102.5, and 145.8 μg mL^-1, respectively, which were superior to those obtained for trans-ferulic acid (581.7, 611.2, and 615.4 μg mL^-1), dufulin (312.6, 302.5, and 298.2 μg mL^-1), and ningnanmycin (264.3, 282.5, and 276.5 μg mL^-1). Thereafter, the protective mechanisms of 5e were evaluated through photosynthesis evaluation, transcriptome profiling, and proteomic analysis. The results indicated that 5e significantly activated the expression levels of photosynthesis-related regulatory genes and proteins in tobacco plants and promoted the accumulation of defense molecules to resist viral infection. Thus, the findings of this study indicated that novel cyclized ferulic acid derivatives are potential antiviral agents that act via regulating photosynthesis in the host.

Novel trifluoromethylpyridine piperazine derivatives as potential plant activators

Plant virus diseases seriously affect crop yield, especially tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) and cucumber mosaic virus (CMV). The development of plant immune activators has been an important direction in the innovation of new pesticides. Therefore, we designed and synthesized a series of trifluoromethyl pyridine piperazine derivatives (A1-A27), and explored the action mechanism of active compound. The antiviral activity test showed that compounds A1, A2, A3, A9, A10, A16, A17 and A21 possessed higher activities than commercialized ningnanmycin. Particularly, the in vivo antiviral activity indicated that compound A16 showed the most potent protective activity toward TMV (EC50 = 18.4 μg/mL) and CMV (EC50 = 347.8 μg/mL), compared to ningnanmycin (50.2 μg /mL for TMV, 359.6 μg/mL for CMV). The activities of defense enzyme, label -free proteomic and qRT-PCR analysis showed that compound A16 could enhance the defensive enzyme activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD),polyphenol oxidase (PPO) and phenylalanine ammonialyase (PAL), and activate the phenylpropanoid biosynthesis pathway to strenthen the antiviral activities of tobacco. This study provides reliable support for the development of new antiviral pesticides and potential antiviral mechanism.

FTX271: A potential gene resource for plant antiviral transgenic breeding

Flammutoxin (FTX), as well as its precursor TDP, is a protein from Flammulina velutipes with antiviral activity. Transgenic tobacco with the FTX271 (gene of FTX or TDP) can not only delay the onset time of symptoms but also alleviate the symptoms caused by tobacco mosaic virus (TMV), but the mechanism is still unclear. In this study, FTX271 was introduced into Nicotiana benthamiana, and the disease resistance mechanism activated by FTX271 was speculated by transcriptomic and proteomic techniques. The results showed that TDP was detected, and some genes, proteins and pathways were significant upregulated or enriched in transgenic tobacco, including the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascade signal transduction pathway, the expression of hypersensitive response (HR) marker genes H1N1 and HSR203J, pathogenesis-related (PR) genes, and the key genes COI1 and lipoxygenase gene LOX2 of the jasmonic acid (JA) signaling pathway, indicating FTX271 may activate the MAPK pathway and increase the content of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and JA, which promoted the HR and inducible systemic resistance (ISR). ISR caused increased expression of peroxidase (POD) and other proteins involved in pathogen defense. In addition, transgenic tobacco may use sHSP-assisted photoreparation to alleviate the symptoms of TMV. In conclusion, JA-mediated ISR and sHSP-assisted photoreparation are activated by FTX271 to protect tobacco from TMV infection and alleviate the symptoms caused by the virus. The study provided a theoretical basis for the TMV resistance mechanism of FTX271, which may represent a potential gene resource for plant antiviral transgenic breeding.