New Ferulic Acid Derivatives Protect Against Carbon Tetrachloride-Induced Liver Injury in Rats

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.

Natural Products as Sources of Multitarget Compounds: Advances in the Development of Ferulic Acid as Multitarget Therapeutic

Nature has provided therapeutic substances for millennia, with many valuable medications derived from plant sources. Multitarget drugs become essential in the management of various disorders including hepatic disorders, neurological disorders, diabetes, and carcinomas. Ferulic acid is a significant potential therapeutic agent, which is easily available at low cost, possesses a low toxicity profile, and has minimum side effects. Ferulic acid exhibits various therapeutic actions by modulation of various signal transduction pathways such as Nrf2, p38, and mTOR. The actions exhibited by ferulic acid include anti-apoptosis, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antidiabetic, anticarcinogenic, hepatoprotection, cardioprotection, activation of transcriptional factors, expression of genes, regulation of enzyme activity, and neuroprotection, which further help in treating various pathophysiological conditions such as cancer, skin diseases, brain disorders, diabetes, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, hypoxia, hepatic disorders, H1N1 flu, and viral infections. The current review focuses on the significance of natural products as sources of multitarget compounds and a primary focus has been made on ferulic acid and its mechanism, role, and protective action in various ailments.

Synthesis, antioxidant and antitumoral activity of new 5′-arylchalcogenyl-3′-N-(E)-feruloyl-3′, 5′-dideoxy-amino-thymidine (AFAT) derivatives

A new multitarget arylchalcogenyl zidovudine derivative is disclosed. The compounds showed a prominent antioxidant and antitumoral activity with no overt sign of toxicity for in vivo evaluations.

Intracellular protein kinase CK2 inhibition by ferulic acid-based trimodal nanodevice

Protein kinase CK2, a pleiotropic and constitutively active kinase, is strictly involved in different diseases, especially in cancer. Many efforts have been carried out to develop specific CK2 inhibitors and recently, it has been evidenced that ferulic acid (FA) represents a promising, albeit cell impermeable, CK2 inhibitor. In the present study, the potential of a nanotechnological approach to cope with intracellular CK2 regulation was explored. Surface-Active Maghemite Nanoparticles (SAMNs), coupling magnetism with photoluminescence, a new feature of SAMNs here described for the first time, were chosen as dual imaging nanocarrier for FA. The self-assembled nanodevice (SAMN@FA) displayed a significant CK2 inhibitory activity in vitro. Moreover, effective cellular internalization of SAMN@FA in cancer cells was proved by direct visualization of the photoluminescent nanocarrier by confocal microscopy and was corroborated by phosphorylation levels of endogenous CK2 targets. The proposed trimodal nanodevice, representing the first example of cellular CK2 nano-inhibition, paves the way for novel active nanocarriers as appealing theranostic tool for future biomedical applications.