Coumarins as Tool Compounds to Aid the Discovery of Selective Function Modulators of Steroid Hormone Binding Proteins

In-vitro cytotoxic potential of aerial parts of Leutea avicennae Mozaff. in different Human cancer cell lines

Medicinal plants such as Leutea avicennae Mozaff. (Apiaceae) have been shown some biological potential for preventing and treating diseases. Fractions and isolated compounds were tested on colon carcinoma (HT-29), cervical carcinoma (HeLa), breast carcinoma (MCF-7), and mouse embryonic fibroblast (NIH/3T3) cell lines. The BSLT method was used for the assessment of the general toxicity of the petroleum ether (PET), chloroform (CHCl3), ethyl acetate (EtOAc), and methanol (MeOH) fractions obtained from the aerial parts of L. avicennae. 1H-NMR and 13 C-NMR spectroscopy were used for structure elucidation. Five compounds, including two coumarins, osthole and umbelliferone, a diterpene phytol, β-sitosterol, and lauric acid, were isolated for the first time from L. avicennae. Osthole showed potent cytotoxic activity against MCF-7 and HT-29 cell lines with IC50 values of 4.23 ± 0.26 and 12.11 ± 0.13 µg/mL, respectively. Phytol demonstrated potent cytotoxic activity towards MCF-7 and HeLa cell lines with IC50 values of 6.80 ± 0.08 and 12.27 ± 0.18 µg/mL, respectively.

A drug-like molecule engages nuclear hormone receptor DAF-12/FXR to regulate mitophagy and extend lifespan

Autophagy-lysosomal function is crucial for maintaining healthy lifespan and preventing age-related diseases. The transcription factor TFEB plays a key role in regulating this pathway. Decreased TFEB expression is associated with various age-related disorders, making it a promising therapeutic target. In this study, we screened a natural product library and discovered mitophagy-inducing coumarin (MIC), a benzocoumarin compound that enhances TFEB expression and lysosomal function. MIC robustly increases the lifespan of Caenorhabditis elegans in an HLH-30/TFEB-dependent and mitophagy-dependent manner involving DCT-1/BNIP3 while also preventing mitochondrial dysfunction in mammalian cells. Mechanistically, MIC acts by inhibiting ligand-induced activation of the nuclear hormone receptor DAF-12/FXR, which, in turn, induces mitophagy and extends lifespan. In conclusion, our study uncovers MIC as a promising drug-like molecule that enhances mitochondrial function and extends lifespan by targeting DAF-12/FXR. Furthermore, we discovered DAF-12/FXR as a previously unknown upstream regulator of HLH-30/TFEB and mitophagy.

S, Joy MN. Substituted benzocoumarin derivatives: synthesis, characterization, biological activities and molecular docking with ADME studies

Herein, an efficient and convenient method for the synthesis of 4-(substitutedphenyl)-1,2-dihydro-2-oxo-6-(2-oxo-2H-benzo[g]chromen-3-yl)pyridine-3-carbonitrile derivatives have been reported using ammonium acetate as catalyst. The structures of synthesized compounds were confirmed using FT-IR, 1H, 13C-NMR and LC-MS spectroscopic techniques. The synthesized compounds have been evaluated for antibacterial activity against bacterial strains by agar diffusion method at different concentrations. Further, all the targeted compounds were screened for anti-oxidant and anti-cancer studies by DPPH and MTT assay methods at different concentrations. Compound 4b displayed good antioxidant and anticancer (against MCF-7 cell line) activity. Further, the binding capability for the synthesized compounds (4a–j) was analyzed by molecular docking studies using human peroxiredoxin 5 (PDB ID: 1HD2) and P38 MAP kinase (PDB ID: 1OUK) protein. Further, the physicochemical properties were analysed from ADME studies respectively.