Identification of Cyclic Sulfonamides with an N-Arylacetamide Group as α-Glucosidase and α-Amylase Inhibitors: Biological Evaluation and Molecular Modeling

A theoretical screening of phytochemical constituents from Millettia brandisiana as inhibitors against acetylcholinesterase

Alzheimer's disease is one of the causes associated with the early stages of dementia. Nowadays, the main treatment available is to inhibit the actions of the acetylcholinesterase (AChE) enzyme, which has been identified as responsible for the disease. In this study, computational methods were used to examine the structure and therapeutic ability of chemical compounds extracted from Millettia brandisiana natural products against AChE. This plant is commonly known as a traditional medicine in Vietnam and Thailand for the treatment of several diseases. Furthermore, machine learning helped us narrow down the choice of 85 substances for further studies by molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulations to gain deeper insights into the interactions between inhibitors and disease proteins. Of the five top-choice substances, γ-dimethylallyloxy-5,7,2,5-tetramethoxyisoflavone emerges as a promising substance due to its large free binding energy to AChE and the high thermodynamic stability of the resulting complex.

Exploring the potential of 2-arylbenzimidazole scaffolds as novel α-amylase inhibitors: QSAR, molecular docking, simulation and pharmacokinetic studies

Previous studies have shown that 2-arylbenzimidazole derivatives have a strong anti-diabetic effect. To further explore this potential, we develop new analogues of the compound using ligand-based drug design and tested their inhibitory and binding properties through QSAR analyses, molecular docking, dynamic simulations and pharmacokinetic studies. By using quantitative structure activity relationship and ligand-based modification, a highly precise predictive model and design of potent compounds was developed from the derivatives of 2-arylbenzimidazoles. Molecular docking and simulation studies were then conducted to identify the optimal binding poses and pharmacokinetic profiles of the newly generated therapeutic drugs. DFT was employed to optimize the chemical structures of 2-arylbenzimidazole derivatives using B3LYP/6-31G* as the basis set. The model with the highest R2trng set, R2adj, Q2cv, and R2test sets (0.926, 0.912, 0.903, and 0.709 respectively) was chosen to predict the inhibitory activities of the derivatives. Five analogues designed using ligand-based strategy had higher activity than the hit molecule. Additionally, the designed molecules had more favorable MolDock scores than the hit molecule and acarbose and simulation studies confirm on their stability and binding affinities towards the protein. The ADME and druglikeness properties of the analogues indicated that they are safe to consume orally and have a high potential for total clearance. The results of this study showed that the suggested analogues could act as α-amylase inhibitors, which could be used as a basis for the creation of new drugs to treat type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Novel sulfonamide derivatives as multitarget antidiabetic agents: design, synthesis, and biological evaluation

A series of new sulfonamide derivatives connected through an imine linker to five or seven membered heterocycles were designed and synthesized. All synthesized derivatives were characterized using a variety of spectroscopic methods, including IR, 1HNMR, and 13CNMR. In vitro α-glucosidase and α-amylase inhibition activities, as well as glucose uptake were assessed for each of the synthesized compounds. Four sulfonamide derivatives namely 3a, 3b, 3h and 6 showed excellent inhibitory potential against α-glucosidase with IC50 values of 19.39, 25.12, 25.57 and 22.02 μM, respectively. They were 1.05- to 1.39-fold more potent than acarbose. Sulfonamide derivatives 3g, 3i and 7 (EC50 values of 1.29, 21.38 and 19.03 μM, respectively) exhibited significant glucose uptake activity that were 1.62- to 27-fold more potent than berberine. Both α-glucosidase protein (PDB: 2QMJ) and α-amylase (PDB: 1XCW) complexed with acarbose were adopted for docking investigations for the most active synthesized compounds. The docked compounds were able to inhabit the same space as the acarviosin ring of acarbose. The docking of the most active compounds showed an analogous binding with the active site of α-glucosidase as acarbose. The superior activity of the synthesized compounds against α-glucosidase enzyme than α-amylase enzyme can be rationalized by the weak interaction with the α-amylase. The physiochemical parameters of all synthesized compounds were aligned with Lipinski's rule of five.

Structure-based molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulations study for the identification of dipeptidyl peptidase 4 inhibitors in type 2 diabetes

Inhibition of dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP4) activity has emerged as a promising therapeutic approach for the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Bioinformatics-driven approaches have emerged as crucial tools in drug discovery. Molecular docking and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations are effective tools in drug discovery, as they reduce the time and cost associated with experimental screening. In this study, we employed structure-assisted in-silico methods, including molecular docking and MD simulations, to identify SRT2183, a small molecule that may potentially inhibit the activity of DPP4 enzyme. The interaction between the small molecule "SRT2183" and DPP4 exhibited a binding affinity of -9.9 Kcal/Mol, leading to the formation of hydrogen bonds with the amino acid residues MET348, SER376, and THR351 of DPP4. The MD simulations over a period of 100 ns indicated stable protein-ligand interactions, with no significant conformational rearrangements observed within the simulated timeframe. In conclusion, our results suggest that the small molecule SRT2183 may have the potential to inhibit the DPP4 enzyme and pave the way for the therapeutics of T2DM.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.

Development of thiazole-appended novel hydrazones as a new class of α-amylase inhibitors with anticancer assets: an in silico and in vitro approach

Hyperamylasemia is reported to be associated with numerous chronic diseases, including diabetes and cancer. Considering this fact, we developed a series of thiazole-clubbed hydrazones. The derivatives were explored for their in vitro α-amylase inhibitory activity, which was further corroborated with their anticancer assets using a panel of cancer cells, including colon cancer (HCT-116), lung cancer (A549), and breast cancer (MDA-MB-231). To better understand pharmacokinetics, the synthetic derivatives were subjected to in silico ADMET prediction. The in vitro based biological investigation revealed that compared to the reference drug acarbose (IC50 = 0.21 ± 0.008 μM), all the synthesized compounds (5a-5aa) exhibited in vitro α-amylase inhibitory response in the range of IC50 values from 0.23 ± 0.003 to 0.5 ± 0.0 μM. Along with this, the proliferations of the HCT-116, A549 and MDA-MB-231 cells were inhibited when treated with the synthesized compounds. Notable cancer cell growth inhibition was observed for compounds 5e, 5f and 5y, which correlated with their α-amylase inhibition. Additionally, the kinetics investigation revealed that 5b, 5e, 5f and 5y exhibit uncompetitive inhibition. 5b was found to be the least cytotoxic and most potent α-amylase inhibitor and was further validated by absorption and fluorescence quenching technique.

N-Arylacetamide derivatives of methyl 1,2-benzothiazine-3-carboxylate as potential drug candidates for urease inhibition

Urease enzyme is an infectious factor that provokes the growth and colonization of virulence pathogenic bacteria in humans. To overcome the deleterious effects of bacterial infections, inhibition of urease enzyme is one of the promising approaches. The current study is designed to synthesize new 1,2-benzothiazine-N-arylacetamide derivatives 5(a-n) that can effectively provide a new drug candidate to avoid bacterial infections by urease inhibition. After structural elucidation by FT-IR, proton and carbon-13 NMR and mass spectroscopy, the synthesized compounds 5(a-n) were investigated to evaluate their inhibitory potential against urease enzyme. In vitro analysis against positive control of thiourea indicated that all the synthesized compounds have strong inhibitory strengths as compared to the reference drug. Compound 5k, being the most potent inhibitor, strongly inhibited the urease enzymes and revealed an IC₅₀ value of 9.8 ± 0.023 µM when compared with the IC₅₀ of thiourea (22.3 ± 0.031 µM)-a far more robust inhibitory potential. Docking studies of 5k within the urease active site revealed various significant interactions such as H-bond, π-alkyl with amino acid residues like Val744, Lys716, Ala16, Glu7452, Ala37 and Asp730.

Inhibition Kinetics and Theoretical Studies on Zanthoxylum chalybeum Engl. Dual Inhibitors of α-Glucosidase and α-Amylase

Compounds from Zanthoxylum chalybeum Engl. were previously reported for inhibitory activities of amylase and glucosidase enzymatic action on starch as a preliminary study toward the establishment of a management strategy against postprandial hyperglycemia, however, the inhibitory kinetics and molecular interaction of these compounds were never established. A study was thus designed to establish the inhibitory kinetics and in silico molecular interaction of α-glucosidase and α-amylase with Z. chalybeum metabolites based on Lineweaver–Burk/Dixon plot analyses and using Molecular Operating Environment (MOE) software, respectively. Skimmianine (5), Norchelerythrine (6), 6-Acetonyldihydrochelerythrine (7), and 6-Hydroxy-N-methyldecarine (8) alkaloids showed mixed inhibition against both α-glucosidase and α-amylase with comparable Ki to the reference acarbose (p > 0.05) on amylase but significantly higher activity than acarbose on α-glucosidase. One phenolic 2,3-Epoxy-6,7-methylenedioxyconiferol (10) showed a competitive mode of inhibition both on amylase and glucosidase which were comparable (p > 0.05) to the activity of acarbose. The other compounds analyzed and displayed varied modes of inhibition between noncompetitive and uncompetitive with moderate inhibition constants included chaylbemide A (1), chalybeate B (2) and chalybemide C (3), fagaramide (4), ailanthoidol (9), and sesame (11). The important residues of the proteins α-glucosidase and α-amylase were found to have exceptional binding affinities and significant interactions through molecular docking studies. The binding affinities were observed in the range of −9.4 to −13.8 and −8.0 to −12.6 relative to the acarbose affinities at −17.6 and −20.5 kcal/mol on α-amylase and α-glucosidase residue, respectively. H-bonding, π-H, and ionic interactions were noted on variable amino acid residues on both enzymes. The study thus provides the basic information validating the application of extracts of Z. chalybeum in the management of postprandial hyperglycemia. Additionally, the molecular binding mechanism discovered in this study could be useful for optimizing and designing new molecular analogs as pharmacological agents against diabetes.

Design, Synthesis and Pharmacological Evaluation of 2-(3-BenzoyI-4-Hydroxy-1,1-Dioxido-2H-Benzo[e][1,2]thiazin-2-yI)-N-(2-Bromophenyl) Acetamide as Antidiabetic Agent

PURPOSE

The present study is based on screening new and potent synthetic heterocyclic compounds as anti-diabetic drugs using various computational tools, lab experiments, and animal models.

METHODS

A potent synthetic compound 2-(3-benzoyl-4-hydroxy-1,1-dioxido-2H-benzo[e][1,2]thiazin-2-yl)-1-(2-bromophenyl) acetamide (FA2) was checked against diabetes and screened via enzyme inhibition assays, enzyme kinetics against alpha-glucosidase and alpha-amylase. Protein-ligand interaction was analyzed via molecular docking and toxicological analysis via ADMET. Experimental animals were used to examine the compound FA2 safety, delivery, and check various biochemical tests related to diabetes like fasting glucose sugar, cholesterol, triglyceride, HbAc1, creatinine, and insulin level. Histography of liver, kidney, and pancreas was also performed.

RESULTS

Results showed that FA2 had binding energy of -7.02 Kcal/mol and -6.6 kcal/mol against α-glucosidase (PDB ID: 2ZE0) and α-amylase (PDB ID: 1B2Y), respectively. Moreover, in vitro enzyme inhibition assays and enzyme kinetics against α-glucosidase and α-amylase were performed, and FA2 showed IC50 at 5.17 ± 0.28 µM and 18.82 ± 0.89 µM concentrations against α-glucosidase and α-amylase, respectively. Kinetics studies showed that the FA2 compound impeded α-glucosidase and α-amylase as a non-competitive mode of inhibition with Ki' values -0.320 ± 0.001 and 0.141 ± 0.01, respectively. FA2 was further analyzed on alloxan-induced mice for 21 days. Biochemical tests (fasting glucose sugar, cholesterol, triglyceride, HbAc1, creatinine, and insulin levels) and histological examination of liver and kidney showed that the FA2 compound showed better results than acarbose. Histology of pancreas found to show the maintenance of normal pancreatic acini and Langerhans islets in FA2 treated mice compared to acarbose and nontreated diabetic controls.

CONCLUSION

Investigating anti-diabetic potential of FA2 compound showed that the selected benzothiazine derivative has tremendous importance in reducing dose concentration and side effects.

Fragment-Based Dynamic Combinatorial Chemistry for Identification of Selective α-Glucosidase Inhibitors

Efforts to combine advantages of fragment-based drug design (FBDD) and dynamic combinatorial chemistry (DCC) for the development of selective α-glucosidase inhibitors were described. Starting from 5 rationally designed fragments, two iterative dynamic combinatorial libraries (DCLs) comprising 29 acylhydrazone products were generated and screened using α-glucosidase and α-amylase as the templates. The optimal ligand identified showed substantial α-glucosidase inhibition with high selectivity over α-amylase as well as low cytotoxicity. Furthermore, inhibition type and detailed ligand/enzyme binding interactions were elucidated by the binding kinetic study and docking simulation, respectively.

Synthesis of Novel N-Methylmorpholine-Substituted Benzimidazolium Salts as Potential α-Glucosidase Inhibitors

The α-glucosidase enzyme, located in the brush border of the small intestine, is responsible for overall glycemic control in the body. It hydrolyses the 1,4-linkage in the carbohydrates to form blood-absorbable monosaccharides that ultimately increase the blood glucose level. α-Glucosidase inhibitors (AGIs) can reduce hydrolytic activity and help to control type 2 diabetes. Aiming to achieve this, a novel series of 1-benzyl-3-((2-substitutedphenyl)amino)-2-oxoethyl)-2-(morpholinomethyl)-1H-benzimidazol-3-ium chloride was synthesized and screened for its α-glucosidase inhibitory potential. Compounds 5d, 5f, 5g, 5h and 5k exhibited better α-glucosidase inhibitions compared to the standard drug (acarbose IC50 = 58.8 ± 0.012 µM) with IC50 values of 15 ± 0.030, 19 ± 0.060, 25 ± 0.106, 21 ± 0.07 and 26 ± 0.035 µM, respectively. Furthermore, the molecular docking studies explored the mechanism of enzyme inhibitions by different 1,2,3-trisubstituted benzimidazolium salts via significant ligand–receptor interactions.

α-Glucosidase and α-Amylase Inhibitory Potentials of Quinoline-1,3,4-oxadiazole Conjugates Bearing 1,2,3-Triazole with Antioxidant Activity, Kinetic Studies, and Computational Validation

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a multifaceted metabolic disorder that remains a major threat to global health security. Sadly, the clinical relevance of available drugs is burdened with an upsurge in adverse effects; hence, inhibiting the carbohydrate-hydrolyzing enzymes α-glucosidase and α-amylase while preventing oxidative stress is deemed a practicable strategy for regulating postprandial glucose levels in DM patients. We report herein the α-glucosidase and α-amylase inhibition and antioxidant profile of quinoline hybrids 4a–t and 12a–t bearing 1,3,4-oxadiazole and 1,2,3-triazole cores, respectively. Overall, compound 4i with a bromopentyl sidechain exhibited the strongest α-glucosidase inhibition (IC₅₀ = 15.85 µM) relative to reference drug acarbose (IC₅₀ = 17.85 µM) and the best antioxidant profile in FRAP, DPPH, and NO scavenging assays. Compounds 4a and 12g also emerged as the most potent NO scavengers (IC₅₀ = 2.67 and 3.01 µM, respectively) compared to gallic acid (IC₅₀ = 728.68 µM), while notable α-glucosidase inhibition was observed for p-fluorobenzyl compound 4k (IC₅₀ = 23.69 µM) and phenyl-1,2,3-triazolyl compound 12k (IC₅₀ = 22.47 µM). Moreover, kinetic studies established the mode of α-glucosidase inhibition as non-competitive, thus classifying the quinoline hybrids as allosteric inhibitors. Molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulations then provided insights into the protein–ligand interaction profile and the stable complexation of promising hybrids at the allosteric site of α-glucosidase. These results showcase these compounds as worthy scaffolds for developing more potent α-glucosidase inhibitors with antioxidant activity for effective DM management.

Phytochemical Profiling, Antimicrobial and α-Glucosidase Inhibitory Potential of Phenolic-Enriched Extracts of the Aerial Parts from Echium humile Desf.: In Vitro Combined with In Silico Approach

The current study aimed to evaluate the naturally occurring antimicrobial and antidiabetic potential of various Echium humile (E. humile) solvent extracts (hexane, dichloromethane, ethyl acetate, methanol and aqueous). The bioactive compounds were identified using HPLC-MS, revealing the presence of sixteen phytochemical compounds, with the most abundant being p-coumaric acid, followed by 4,5-di-O-caffeoylquinic acid, trans-ferulic acid and acacetin. Furthermore, E. humile extracts showed marked antimicrobial properties against human pathogen strains, with MIC values for the most relevant extracts (methanol and ethyl acetate) ranging from 0.19 to 6.25 mg/mL and 0.39 to 12.50 mg/mL, respectively. Likewise, methanol was found to be bactericidal towards S. aureus, B. cereus and M. luteus, fungicidal against P. catenulatum and F. oxysporum and have a bacteriostatic/fungicidal effect for the other strains. In addition, the E. humile methanolic extract had the greatest α-glucosidase inhibitory effect (IC₅₀ = 0.06 ± 0.29 mg/mL), which is higher than the standard drug, acarbose (IC₅₀ = 0.80 ± 1.81 mg/mL) and the aqueous extract (IC₅₀ = 0.70 ± 0.67 mg/mL). A correlation study between the major phytochemicals and the evaluated activities was investigated. Docking studies evidenced that most of the identified phenolic compounds showed strong interactions into the binding sites of S. aureus tyrosyl-tRNA synthetase and human lysosomal acid-α-glucosidase, confirming their suitable inhibitory effect. In summary, these results may provide rational support to explore the clinical efficacy of E. humile and its secondary metabolites in the treatment of dual diabetes and infections.