Design, synthesis and evaluation of benzofuran-acetamide scaffold as potential anticonvulsant agent

Recent investigations into synthesis and pharmacological activities of phenoxy acetamide and its derivatives (chalcone, indole and quinoline) as possible therapeutic candidates

Medicinal chemistry can rightfully be regarded as a cornerstone in the public health of our modern society that combines chemistry and pharmacology with the aim of designing and developing new pharmaceutical compounds. For this purpose, many chemical techniques as well as new computational chemistry applications are used to study the utilization of drugs and their biological effects. In the biological interface, medicinal chemistry constitutes a group of interdisciplinary sciences, as well as controlling its organic, physical and computational pillars. Therefore, medicinal chemists working to design an integrated and developing system that portends an era of novel and safe tailored drugs either by synthesizing new pharmaceuticals or to improving the processes by which existing pharmaceuticals are made. It includes researching the effects of synthetic, semi-synthetic and natural biologically active substances based on molecular interactions in terms of molecular structure with triggered functional groups or the specific physicochemical properties. The present work focuses on the literature survey of chemical diversity of phenoxy acetamide and its derivatives (Chalcone, Indole and Quinoline) in the molecular framework in order to get complete information regarding pharmacologically interesting compounds of widely different composition. From a biological and industrial point of view, this literature review may provide an opportunity for the chemists to design new derivatives of phenoxy acetamide and its derivatives that proved to be the successful agent in view of safety and efficacy to enhance life quality.

Rational approaches for the design of various GABA modulators and their clinical progression

GABA (γ-amino butyric acid) is an important inhibitory neurotransmitter in the central nervous system. Attenuation of GABAergic neurotransmission plays an important role in the etiology of several neurological disorders including epilepsy, Alzheimer's disease, Huntington's chorea, migraine, Parkinson's disease, neuropathic pain, and depression. Increase in the GABAergic activity may be achieved through direct agonism at the GABAA receptors, inhibition of enzymatic breakdown of GABA, or by inhibition of the GABA transport proteins (GATs). These functionalities make GABA receptor modulators and GATs attractive drug targets in brain disorders associated with decreased GABA activity. There have been several reports of development of GABA modulators (GABA receptors, GABA transporters, and GABAergic enzyme inhibitors) in the past decade. Therefore, the focus of the present review is to provide an overview on various design strategies and synthetic approaches toward developing GABA modulators. Furthermore, mechanistic insights, structure-activity relationships, and molecular modeling inputs for the biologically active derivatives have also been discussed. Summary of the advances made over the past few years in the clinical translation and development of GABA receptor modulators is also provided. This compilation will be of great interest to the researchers working in the field of neuroscience. From the light of detailed literature, it can be concluded that numerous molecules have displayed significant results and their promising potential, clearly placing them ahead as potential future drug candidates.

Synthesis and antioxidant properties of 2-(3-(hydroxyimino)methyl)-1H-indol-1-yl)acetamide derivatives

Background

The main aim of this work was to synthesise a novel N-(substituted phenyl)-2-(3-(hydroxyimino) methyl)-1H-indol-1-yl) acetamide derivatives and evaluate their antioxidant activity. These compounds were prepared by a condensation reaction between 1H-indole carbaldehyde oxime and 2-chloro acetamide derivatives. The newly synthesised compound structures were characterised by FT-IR, 1H-NMR, mass spectroscopy and elemental analysis. Furthermore, the above-mentioned compounds were screened for antioxidant activity by using ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) and 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) methods.

Result

The antioxidant activity result reveals that most of the compounds were exhibiting considerable activity in both methods and the values are very closer to the standards. Among the synthesised compounds, compound 3j, 3a and 3k were shown remarkable activity at low concentration.

Conclusion

Compounds 3j, 3a and 3k were shown highest activity among the prepared analogues due to the attachment of halogens connected at the appropriate place in the phenyl ring. Hence, these substituted phenyl rings considered as a perfect side chain for the indole nucleus for the development of the new antioxidant agents.

Benzofuran: A Key Heterocycle - Ring Closure And Beyond

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The benzofuranyl motif present in compounds exhibits various medicinal properties and non-drug applications. These derivatives are naturally occurring compounds or synthetic materials, which cover a broad spectrum of pharmacological activities like anti-inflammatory, anti-diabetic, anti- depressant, anti-HIV, anti-microbial, anti-proliferative, anti-convulsant, cytotoxic, analgesic, etc. Few of the commercially interesting compounds from this class are, ailanthoidol (anti-inflammatory), amiodarone, dronedarone, celivarone (anti-arrhythmic), bufuralol (muscular airways relaxant), morphine, 5-(2-aminopropyl)benzofuran; 5-APB, 6-(2-aminopropyl)benzofuran; 6-APB (CNS), rifampicin (antibiotic), etc., whereas, some of the non-drug applications are in perfumery industry (bergapten) and as tannin activators in sunscreen preparations (psoralen, 8-methoxypsoralen, and angelicin). Considering these interesting biological activities and commercial utilities, a review on the synthetic aspects of this privileged scaffold was attempted. For the benefit of natural product-based drug discovery, available sources of these derivatives, extraction process and reported biological activities have also been outlined in this review.

Synthesis, characterization and antibacterial activity of novel heterocycle, coumacine, and two of its derivatives

Heterocyclic nucleus plays a fundamental role in the medicinal chemistry and serves as a key template for the development of various therapeutic agents including broad spectrum antibacterial drugs. In an effort to develop new antibacterial agents, a bicyclic twelve-membered heterocyclic nucleus derived from coumarin was prepared by an uncomplicated method. The rate of ring closure for this nucleus, which was given the name coumacine, in addition to two of its derivatives was monitored spectroscopically and this rate followed zero order kinetics. The chemical structures of the synthesized products were established by detecting their physicochemical properties and analyzing their IR, ¹H NMR and ¹³C NMR spectra. The in vitro antibacterial activity of coumacines was evaluated via agar dilution method against different standard aerobic and anaerobic bacterial strains using ciprofloxacin and metronidazole as positive controls, respectively; the results indicated that coumacine I has an excellent broad spectrum antibacterial activity against the tested bacterial strains with percentage of growth inhibition approximating to those of positive controls.

5,6-Dihydropyrimidine-1(2H)-carbothioamides: Synthesis, in vitro GABA-AT screening, anticonvulsant activity and molecular modelling study

Even after considerable advances in the field of epilepsy treatment, convulsions are inefficiently controlled by standard drug therapy. Herein, a series of pyrimidine-carbothioamide derivatives 4(a-t) was designed as anticonvulsant agents by doing some important structural modifications in well-known anticonvulsant drugs. Two classical animal models were used for the in vivo anticonvulsant screening, maximum electroshock seizure (MES) and subcutaneous pentylenetetrazole (scPTZ) models; followed by motor impairment study by rotarod method. The most active compound 4g effectively suppressed seizure effect in both the animal models with median doses of 15.6 mg/kg (MES ED₅₀), 278.4 mg/kg (scPTZ ED₅₀) and 534.4 mg/kg (TD₅₀) with no sign of neurotoxicity. Furthermore, in vitro GABA-AT enzyme activity assay of 4g showed inhibitory potency (IC₅₀) of 12.23 μM. The docking study also favored the animal studies.

Not all boronic acids with a five-membered cycle induce tremor, neuronal damage and decreased dopamine

Several striatal toxins can be used to induce motor disruption. One example is MPTP (1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine), whose toxicity is accepted as a murine model of parkinsonism. Recently, 3-Thienylboronic acid (3TB) was found to produce motor disruption and biased neuronal damage to basal ganglia in mice. The aim of this study was to examine the toxic effects of four boronic acids with a close structural relationship to 3TB (all having a five-membered cycle), as well as boric acid and 3TB. These boron-containing compounds were compared to MPTP regarding brain access, morphological disruption of the CNS, and behavioral manifestations of such disruption. Data was collected through acute toxicity evaluations, motor behavior tests, necropsies, determination of neuronal survival by immunohistochemistry, Raman spectroscopic analysis of brain tissue, and HPLC measurement of dopamine in substantia nigra and striatum tissue. Each compound showed a distinct profile for motor disruption. For example, motor activity was not disrupted by boric acid, but was decreased by two boronic acids (caused by a sedative effect). 3TB, 2-Thienyl and 2-furanyl boronic acid gave rise to shaking behavior. The various manifestations generated by these compounds can be linked, in part, to different levels of dopamine (measured by HPLC) and degrees of neuronal damage in the basal ganglia and cerebellum. Clearly, motor disruption is not induced by all boronic acids with a five-membered cycle as substituent. Possible explanations are given for the diverse chemico-morphological changes and degrees of disruption of the motor system, considering the role of boron and the structure-toxicity relationship.

2-(5-Methyl-1-benzofuran-3-yl)-N-(2-phenylethyl)acetamide

The title compound, C19H19NO2, is non-planar with the phenyl ring of the phenethylacetamide residue inclined to the benzofuran ring system by 84.8 (3)°. The methyl group lies in the plane of the fused ring system [C—C—C—C torsion angle = −179.6 (3)°]. In the crystal, N—H...O hydrogen bonds link the molecules into chains along thea-axis direction. π–π stacking interactions with a centroid-to-centroid distances of 3.497 (3) Å further stabilize the structure, stacking the molecules alonga.