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.

Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of Novel Thiadiazole Derivatives as Antiplatelet Agents

A novel series of thiadiazole compounds was synthesized through the reaction of thiosemicarbazone intermediates with 2, 3-dichloro-5,6-dicyano-1,4-benzoquinone (DDQ). The antiplatelet activity of the synthesized compounds was evaluated using an aggregation test with adenosine diphosphate (ADP) and arachidonic acid (AA) as platelet aggregation inducers. Among the synthesized analogs, compound 3b exhibited the most potent inhibition of platelet aggregation induced by ADP (half maximal inhibitory concentration [IC50] = 39 ± 11 µM). Molecular docking studies of 3b revealed hydrogen bonds between the nitrogen of the thiadiazole ring and Lys280. The tolyl ring exhibited hydrophobic interactions with Tyr105, similar to the antagonist co-crystallized with P2Y12 (PDB ID: 4NTJ). These compounds have the potential to serve as lead molecules for designing P2Y12 inhibitors.

Shallot skin profilling, computational evaluation of physicochemical properties, ADMET, and molecular docking of its components against P2Y12 receptor

OBJECTIVES

Medicinal plants are a source of many compounds that are useful in the pharmaceutical field for novel drug development. Polyphenols and the flavonoid group in plants are known to have several activities, such as relieving cardio vascular disease (CVD). The outer skin of the shallot which is disposed of as waste is known to have an antiplatelet activity which was tested in vitro assay. To date, there is no study reported on the ADMET profile and physicochemical properties of the active component of the shallot skins.

METHODS

The extraction of shallot skins was conducted by ultrasonic irradiation using ethanol. The phytochemical screenings were carried out by TLC and color reaction. The profiling of its active ingredient was presented by GC-MS, HPLC and spectrophotometry UV-vis. Whereas their physicochemical properties were analyzed by ChemDraw 17.00 program and the ADMET predictions were studied using pkCSM online tool. The MVD program was operated in the docking study on protein P2Y12 (PDB ID 4PXZ).

RESULTS

The extract showed the presence of polyphenol, flavonoids, quercetin, natalensine-3,5-dinitrobenzoate; bis[2-(2-fluorophenyl)-6-fluoroquinolin-4-yl]amine, benzo[a]heptalene, N-(trifluoroacetyl) methyl-N-deacethyl-colchicine. The ADMET prediction data displayed that the compounds in the extract have good absorption so that they can be used in the oral and transdermal routes. Some components in the extract have lower MDS than clopidogrel.

CONCLUSIONS

The ultrasonicated shallot skin extract can be used as additional resources of the active pharmaceutical ingredients and to have the potency to be developed as an oral or transdermal preparation.

Syntheses and Antibiotic Evaluation of 2-{[(2R,4R)-4-Carboxy-2-hydroxypyrrolidin-1-yl]carbonyl}benzene-1,5-dicarboxylic Acids and 2-Carbamoylbenzene-1,5-dicarboxylic Acid Analogues

Our search for new antibiotics led to the syntheses and biological evaluation of new classes of dicarboxylic acid analogues. The syntheses involve nucleophilic addition of different substituted benzylamine, aniline, alkylamine, and 4-hydroxyl-L-proline with carbamoylbenzoic acid. The results of the antimicrobial activity as indicated by the zone of inhibition (ZOI) showed that Z₁₀ is the most active against Pseudomonas aeruginosa (32 mm) and least active against Candida stellatoidea (27 mm) and Vancomycin Resistant Enterococci (VRE) (27 mm), while Z₇ shows the least zone of inhibition (22 mm) against Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). The minimum inhibition concentration (MIC) determination reveals that Z₁₀ inhibits the growth of tested microbes at a low concentration of 6.25 μg/mL, while Z₉ and Z₁₂ inhibits the growth of most microbes at a concentration of 12.5 μg/mL, recording the least MIC. The Minimum Bactericidal/Fungicidal Concentration (MBC/MFC) results revealed that Z₁₀ has the highest bactericidal/fungicidal effect on the test microbes, at a concentration of 12.5 μg/mL, with the exception of Candida stellatoidea and Vancomycin Resistant Enterococci (VRE) with MBC/MFC of 25 μg/mL. The result of this investigation reveals the potential of the target compounds (Z_{1–3,5,7–12}) in the search for new antimicrobial agents.