Exploring fluorine-substituted piperidines as potential therapeutics for diabetes mellitus and Alzheimer's diseases

In the current study, a series of fluorine-substituted piperidine derivatives (1-8) has been synthesized and characterized by various spectroscopic techniques. In vitro and in vivo enzyme inhibitory studies were conducted to elucidate the efficacy of these compounds, shedding light on their potential therapeutic applications. To the best of our knowledge, for the first time, these heterocyclic structures have been investigated against α-glucosidase and cholinesterase enzymes. The antioxidant activity of the synthesized compounds was also assessed. Evaluation of synthesized compounds revealed notable inhibitory effects on α-glucosidase and cholinesterases. Remarkably, the target compounds (1-8) exhibited extraordinary α-glucosidase inhibitory activity as compared to the standard acarbose by several-fold. Subsequently, the potential antidiabetic effects of compounds 2, 4, 5, and 6 were validated using a STZ-induced diabetic rat model. Kinetic studies were also performed to understand the mechanism of inhibition, while structure-activity relationship analyses provided valuable insights into the structural features governing enzyme inhibition. Kinetic investigations revealed that compound 4 displayed a competitive mode of inhibition against α-glucosidase, whereas compound 2 demonstrated mixed-type behavior against AChE. To delve deeper into the binding interactions between the synthesized compounds and their respective enzyme targets, molecular docking studies were conducted. Overall, our findings highlight the promising potential of these densely substituted piperidines as multifunctional agents for the treatment of diseases associated with dysregulated glucose metabolism and cholinergic dysfunction.

Synthesis, molecular docking evaluation for LOX and COX-2 inhibition and determination of in-vivo analgesic potentials of aurone derivatives

In the current study, seven (7) aurone derivatives (ADs) were synthesized and employed to in-vitro LOX and COX-2 assays, in-vivo models of acetic acid-induced mice writhing, formalin-induced mice paw licking and tail immersion test to evaluate their analgesic potential at the doses of 10 mg and 20 mg/kg body weight. Molecular docking was performed to know the active binding site at both LOX and COX-2 as compared to standard drugs. Among the ADs, 2-(3,4-dimethoxybenzylidene)benzofuran-3(2H)-one (WE-4)possessed optimal LOX and COX-2 inhibitory strength (IC50=0.30 μM and 0.22 μM) as compared to standard (ZileutonIC50 = 0.08 μM, CelecoxibIC50 = 0.05 μM). Similarly in various pain models compound WE-4 showed significantly (p < 0.05) highest percent analgesic potency as compared to control at a dose of 20 mg/kg i.e. 77.60 % analgesic effect in acetic acid model, 49.97 % (in Phase-1) and 70.93 % (inPhase-2) analgesic effect in formalin pain model and 74.71 % analgesic response in tail immersion model. By the administration of Naloxone, the tail flicking latencies were reversed (antagonized) in all treatments. The WE-4 (at 10 mg/kg and 20 mg/kg) was antagonized after 90 min from 11.23 ± 0.93 and 13.41 ± 1.21 to 5.30 ± 0.48 and 4.80 ± 0.61 respectively as compared to standard Tramadol (from 17.74 ± 1.33 to 3.70 ± 0.48), showing the opiodergic receptor involvement. The molecular docking study of ADs revealed that WE-4 had a higher affinity for LOX and COX-2 with docking scores of -4.324 and -5.843 respectively. As a whole, among the tested ADs, compound WE-4 demonstrated excellent analgesic effects that may have been caused by inhibiting the LOX and COX-2 pathways.

Design and synthesis of 2-amino-4,6-diarylpyrimidine derivatives as potent α-glucosidase and α-amylase inhibitors: structure-activity relationship, in vitro, QSAR, molecular docking, MD simulations and drug-likeness studies

In the present study, a series of 2-amino-4,6-diarylpyrimidine derivatives was designed, synthesized, characterized and evaluated for their in vitro α-glucosidase and α-amylase enzyme inhibition assays. The outcomes proved that this class of compounds exhibit considerable inhibitory activity against both enzymes. Among the target compounds, compounds 4p and 6p demonstrated the most potent dual inhibition with IC50 = 0.087 ± 0.01 μM for α-glucosidase; 0.189 ± 0.02 μM for α-amylase and IC50 = 0.095 ± 0.03 μM for α-glucosidase; 0.214 ± 0.03 μM for α-amylase, respectively as compared to the standard rutin (IC50 = 0.192 ± 0.02 μM for α-glucosidase and 0.224 ± 0.02 μM for α-amylase). Remarkably, the enzyme inhibition results indicate that test compounds have stronger inhibitory effect on the target enzymes than the positive control, with a significantly lower IC50 value. Moreover, these series of compounds were found to inhibit α-glucosidase activity in a reversible mixed-type manner with IC50 between 0.087 ± 0.01 μM to 1.952 ± 0.26 μM. Furthermore, molecular docking studies were performed to affirm the binding interactions of this scaffold to the active sites of α-glucosidase and α-amylase enzymes. The quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) investigations showed a strong association between 1p-15p structures and their inhibitory actions (IC50) with a correlation value (R2) of 0.999916. Finally, molecular dynamic (MD) simulations were carried out to assess the dynamic behavior, stability of the protein-ligand complex, and binding affinity of the most active inhibitor 4p. The experimental and theoretical results therefore exposed a very good compatibility. Additionally, the drug-likeness assay revealed that some compounds exhibit a linear association with Lipinski's rule of five, indicating good drug-likeness and bioactivity scores for pharmacological targets.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.

Synthesis and biological evaluation of substituted aurone derivatives as potential tyrosinase inhibitors: in vitro, kinetic, QSAR, docking and drug-likeness studies

Tyrosinase enzyme plays an essential role in melanin biosynthesis and enzymatic browning of fruits and vegetables. To discover potent tyrosinase inhibitors, the present studies were undertaken. In this context, synthetic aurone derivatives 26-50 were designed, synthesized, and structurally elucidated by various spectroscopic techniques including IR, UV, 1H- & 13C-NMR and mass spectrometry. The target compounds 26-50 were screened for their anti-tyrosinase inhibitory potential, and thus kinetic mechanism was analyzed by Lineweaver-Burk plots. All target compounds exhibited good to excellent IC50 values in the range of 7.12 ± 0.32 μM to 66.82 ± 2.44 μM. These synthesized aurone derivatives were found as potent tyrosinase inhibitors relative to the standard kojic acid (IC50 = 16.69 ± 2.81 μM) and the compound 39 inhibited tyrosinase non-competitively (Ki = 11.8 μM) by forming an enzyme-inhibitor complex. The binding modes of these molecules were ascribed through molecular docking studies against tyrosinase protein (PDB ID: 2Y9X). The quantitative structure-activity relationship studies displayed a good correlation between 26-50 structures and their anti-tyrosinase activity (IC50) with a correlation coefficient (R2) of 0.9926. The computational studies were coherent with experimental results and these ligands exhibited good binding values against tyrosinase and interacted with core residues of target protein. Moreover, the drug-likeness analysis also showed that some compounds have a linear correlation with Lipinski's rule of five, indicating good drug-likeness and bioactivity scores for pharmacological targets.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.

Evaluation of 2,3-Dihydro-1,5-benzothiazepine Derivatives as Potential Tyrosinase Inhibitors: In Vitro and In Silico Studies

Benzothiazepines are pharmacologically active compounds, frequently utilized as a precursor for acquiring versatile molecules with several bioactivities including anti-inflammatory, anti-human immunodeficiency virus (anti-HIV), analgesic, antitumor, antimicrobial, and antitubercular. In this study, the 2,4-diphenyl-2,3-dihydro-1,5-benzothiazepine scaffold was selected for their in vitro, docking, and druglikeness studies to evaluate their inhibitory potential against mushroom tyrosinase. All synthesized analogues, 1-14, exhibited moderate to good IC₅₀ values ranging from 1.21 to 70.65 μM. The synthesized benzothiazepine derivatives were potent tyrosinase inhibitors, which outperformed the reference kojic acid (IC₅₀ = 16.69 μM). The kinetic analysis revealed that compound 2 (2-(3,4-dimethoxyphenyl)-4-(p-tolyl)-2,3-dihydrobenzo[b][1,4]thiazepine) was a mixed-type tyrosinase inhibitor with a K_i value of 1.01 μM. Molecular modeling studies against tyrosinase protein (PDB ID: 2Y9X) were conducted to recognize the binding modes of these analogues. The utilization of molecular dynamic (MD) simulations enabled the assessment of the protein-ligand complex's dynamic behavior, stability, and binding affinity for the compounds. These simulations ultimately led to the identification of compound 2 as a potential inhibitor of tyrosinase. Additionally, a druglikeness study was conducted, which supported the promising potential of the new analogues as novel antityrosinase agents. The in silico studies were consistent with the in vitro results, showing that these ligands had good binding scores against tyrosinase and interacted with the core residues of the target protein. Gaussian 09 was used for the geometry optimization of all complexes.

Synthesis of Novel 2,3-Dihydro-1,5-Benzothiazepines as α-Glucosidase Inhibitors: In Vitro, In Vivo, Kinetic, SAR, Molecular Docking, and QSAR Studies

In the present study, a series of 2,3-dihydro-1,5-benzothiazepine derivatives 1B-14B has been synthesized sand characterized by various spectroscopic techniques. The enzyme inhibitory activities of the target analogues were assessed using in vitro and in vivo mechanism-based assays. The tested compounds 1B-14B exhibited in vitro inhibitory potential against α-glucosidase with IC₅₀ = 2.62 ± 0.16 to 10.11 ± 0.32 μM as compared to the standard drug acarbose (IC₅₀ = 37.38 ± 1.37 μM). Kinetic studies of the most active derivatives 2B and 3B illustrated competitive inhibitions. Based on the α-glucosidase inhibitory effect, the compounds 2B, 3B, 6B, 7B, 12B, 13B, and 14B were chosen in vivo for further evaluation of antidiabetic activity in streptozotocin-induced diabetic Wistar rats. All these evaluated compounds demonstrated significant antidiabetic activity and were found to be nontoxic in nature. Moreover, the molecular docking study was performed to elucidate the binding interactions of most active analogues with the various sites of the α-glucosidase enzyme (PDB ID 3AJ7). Additionally, quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) studies were performed based on the α-glucosidase inhibitory assay. The value of correlation coefficient (r) 0.9553 shows that there was a good correlation between the 1B-14B structures and selected properties. There is a correlation between the experimental and theoretical results. Thus, these novel compounds could serve as potential candidates to become leads for the development of new drugs provoking an anti-hyperglycemic effect.

Design, Synthesis, and Structural Characterization of Thioflavones and Thioflavonols as Potential Tyrosinase Inhibitors: In Vitro and In Silico Studies

To find new potential tyrosinase inhibitors, a diverse range of 2-arylchromone-4-thione derivatives (2a-2p) were designed and synthesized by employing a multistep strategy, and the newly synthesized compounds, for the first time, were screened in vitro for their tyrosinase inhibitory activity. In this context, the newly synthesized compounds (2a-2p) were characterized using a combination of several spectroscopic techniques including Fourier transform infrared, UV-vis, ¹H NMR, and ¹³C NMR spectroscopies and electron ionization-mass spectrometry. All the target compounds were potent against tyrosinase as compared to the standard inhibitor kojic acid (half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC₅₀) = 12.6 ± 0.6 μM). The compounds (2a-2p) produced IC₅₀ values in the range from 1.12 ± 0.04 to 5.68 ± 0.13 μM. Among the synthesized 4-thioflavones and 4-thioflavonols, the compound 2n exhibited excellent tyrosinase inhibitory activity with the lowest IC₅₀ of 1.12 ± 0.04 μM that could be recommended as potential lead candidates to cure tyrosinase-mediated hyperpigmentation in the future. A kinetic study of compound 2n revealed that compound 2n inhibited tyrosinase in a competitive mode. Furthermore, the nontoxic performance of the most beneficial compounds ranging from 1 to 25 g/mL was determined using the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide test method for A375 human melanoma cells for the highly efficient target compounds (2m, 2n, 2o, and 2p). Moreover, a molecular modeling study was performed against tyrosinase enzyme (2Y9X) to check the binding interactions of the synthesized compounds (2a-2p) against the target protein. Furthermore, quantitative structure-activity relationship studies were conducted based on an antityrosinase assay. The value of the correlation coefficient (R ²) 0.9997 shows that there was a good correlation between (2a-2p) structures and selected properties. The geometry optimization of all complexes was performed by using Gaussian 09. Additionally, a drug-likeness research was used to establish the potent analogues' positive action as a new antityrosinase agent (2n, 2o, and 2p).

Dietary Polyphenols: Extraction, Identification, Bioavailability, and Role for Prevention and Treatment of Colorectal and Prostate Cancers

Fruits, vegetables, and other edible plants in our diet have numerous health benefits, due to the bioactive compounds in these food items, including polyphenols. These plants are a rich and promising source of natural products and phytochemicals that can be used to treat and prevent numerous diseases and prevent the progression of cancer. Dietary polyphenols exhibit chemo-preventive and therapeutic effects against various ailments, including several types of cancer. The current study focuses on polyphenol’s traditional and advanced extraction methods, with supercritical extraction as a novel approach. It also deals with their identification, bioavailability, and role in preventing and treating colorectal and prostate cancers. Additionally, the article covers the literature that deals with the anticancer activities of polyphenols, as well as their potential use as anticancer agents.

Syzygium cumini (L.) Skeels extracts; in vivo anti-nociceptive, anti-inflammatory, acute and subacute toxicity assessment

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Syzygium cumini (L.) Skeels has been extensively used in the ancient medical system of Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka to combat diabetes, inflammation, and renal disorders. These health-promoting aspects of S. cumini are related to bioactive metabolites such as phenolic acids, anthocyanins, tannins, and flavonoids.

AIM OF THE STUDY

Earlier to this study, we have reported S. cumini extracts as potential sources of bioactive compounds bearing antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. However, prior further suggesting S. cumini fruit extracts for consumption against inflammatory disorders, it was mandatory to validate the claim and explore toxicity of the extracts. This study aims to determine the in vivo anti-nociceptive, anti-inflammatory, acute, and subacute toxicity properties of S. cumini crude extracts, followed by identifying and quantifying bioactive metabolites.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

In the present study, the anti-nociceptive and anti-inflammatory potential of S. cumini sequential crude extracts were evaluated using formalin and glutamate-induced paw licking method in mice. The acute and sub-acute toxicity assessment of active extract was performed by oral administration in rats. An acute toxicity trial was performed with two different doses, i.e., 2000 mg/kg and 3000 mg/kg for consecutive 14 days, whereas a sub-acute toxicity study was conducted at doses of 750 mg/kg and 1500 mg/kg for the next 28 days. Identification of bioactive compounds was performed using HPLC, and at the end, in silico docking calculations of identified compounds were performed.

RESULTS

The 100% methanolic extract (SCME) protected the mice from painful stimulation of formalin and glutamate in a dose-dependent manner with the maximum effect of 49% and 67% at 200 mg/kg, respectively, followed by moderate and non-influential effects of 50% methanolic extract and dichloromethane (DCM) extracts when compared to control, i.e., normal saline. The results of acute toxicity recorded LD₅₀ of SCME over 3000 mg/kg, and no antagonistic effects were recorded during the subacute study when SCME dispensed at the rate of 750 mg/kg and 1500 mg/kg. SCME was found to induce no adverse effects to kidney, heart, liver, spleen, and paired lungs examined by hematological, serum biochemical, histological analysis. HPLC analysis of S. cumini 100% methanolic extracts revealed the presence of delphinidin 3-glucoside, peonidin-3,5-diglucoside, scopoletin, and umbelliferone at the concentration of 127.4, 2104, 31.3, 10.4 μg/g whereas in 50% methanolic extract, the quinic acid, catechin, and myricetin were present at the concentration of 54.9, 63.7, 12.3 μg/g, respectively. Umbelliferone and scopoletin are newly reported compounds in the present study. In silico docking calculations of these compounds indicated the potential of anti-nociceptive and anti-inflammatory activities.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings validate that S. cumini fruit extracts are a rich source of bioactive compounds that needs to be considered to enhance biological activities with lesser side effects.

High Efficiency In Vitro Wound Healing of Dictyophora indusiata Extracts via Anti-Inflammatory and Collagen Stimulating (MMP-2 Inhibition) Mechanisms

Dictyophora indusiata or Phallus indusiatus is widely used as not only traditional medicine, functional foods, but also, skin care agents. Biological activities of the fruiting body from D. indusiata were widely reported, while the studies on the application of immature bamboo mushroom extracts were limited especially in the wound healing effect. Wound healing process composed of 4 stages including hemostasis, inflammation, proliferation, and remodelling. This study divided the egg stage of bamboo mushroom into 3 parts: peel and green mixture (PGW), core (CW), and whole mushroom (WW). Then, aqueous extracts were investigated for their nucleotide sequencing, biological compound contents, and wound healing effect. The anti-inflammatory determination via the levels of cytokine releasing from macrophages, and the collagen stimulation activity on fibroblasts by matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) inhibitory activity were determined to serve for the wound healing process promotion in the stage 2–4 (wound inflammation, proliferation, and remodelling of the skin). All D. indusiata extracts showed good antioxidant potential, significantly anti-inflammatory activity in the decreasing of the nitric oxide (NO), interleukin-1 (IL-1), interleukin-1 (IL-6), and tumour necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) secretion from macrophage cells (p < 0.05), and the effective collagen stimulation via MMP-2 inhibition. In particular, CW extract containing high content of catechin (68.761 ± 0.010 mg/g extract) which could significantly suppress NO secretion (0.06 ± 0.02 µmol/L) better than the standard anti-inflammatory drug diclofenac (0.12 ± 0.02 µmol/L) and their MMP-2 inhibition (41.33 ± 9.44%) was comparable to L-ascorbic acid (50.65 ± 2.53%). These findings support that CW of D. indusiata could be an essential natural active ingredient for skin wound healing pharmaceutical products.

2-Benzylidenebenzofuran-3(2H)-ones as a new class of alkaline phosphatase inhibitors: synthesis, SAR analysis, enzyme inhibitory kinetics and computational studies

The excelling role of organic chemistry in the medicinal field continues to be one of the main leads in the drug development process. Particularly, this industry requires organic chemists to discover small molecular structures with powerful pharmacological potential. Herein, a diverse range of chalcone (1–11) and aurone (12–22) derivatives was designed and synthesized and for the first time, and both motifs were evaluated as potent inhibitors of alkaline phosphatases (APs). Structural identification of the target compounds (1–22) was accomplished using common spectroscopic techniques. The effect of the nature and position of the substituent was interestingly observed and justified based on the detailed structure–activity relationship (SAR) of the target compounds against AP. It was concluded from the obtained results that all the newly synthesized compounds exhibit high inhibitory potential against the AP enzyme. Among them, compounds 12 (IC₅₀ = 2.163 ± 0.048 μM), 15 (IC₅₀ = 2.146 ± 0.056 μM), 16 (IC₅₀ = 2.132 ± 0.034 μM), 18 (IC₅₀ = 1.154 ± 0.043 μM), 20 (IC₅₀ = 1.055 ± 0.029 μM) and 21 (IC₅₀ = 2.326 ± 0.059 μM) exhibited excellent inhibitory activity against AP, and even better/more active than KH₂PO₄ (standard) (IC₅₀ = 2.80 ± 0.065 μM). Remarkably, compound 20 (IC₅₀ = 1.055 ± 0.029 μM) may serve as a lead structure to design more potent inhibitors of alkaline phosphatase. To the best of our knowledge, these synthetic compounds are the most potent AP inhibitors with minimum IC₅₀ values reported to date. Furthermore, a molecular modeling study was performed against the AP enzyme (1EW2) to check the binding interaction of the synthesized compounds 1–22 against the target protein. The Lineweaver–Burk plots demonstrated that most potential derivative 20 inhibited h-IAP via a non-competitive pathway. Finally, molecular dynamic (MD) simulations were performed to evaluate the dynamic behavior, stability of the protein–ligand complex, and binding affinity of the compounds, resulting in the identification of compound 20 as a potential inhibitor of AP. Accordingly, excellent correlation was observed between the experimental and theoretical results. The pharmacological studies revealed that the synthesized analogs 1–22 obey Lipinski's rule. The assessment of the ADMET parameters showed that these compounds possess considerable lead-like characteristics with low toxicity and can serve as templates in drug design.

Aurones are the plant secondary metabolites belonging to the flavonoid’s family. The bioactivities of aurones are very promising, thus these heterocyclic compounds can be considered as an alluring scaffold for drug design and development.

Methoxy-Substituted Tyramine Derivatives Synthesis, Computational Studies and Tyrosinase Inhibitory Kinetics

Targeting tyrosinase for melanogenesis disorders is an established strategy. Hydroxyl-substituted benzoic and cinnamic acid scaffolds were incorporated into new chemotypes that displayed in vitro inhibitory effects against mushroom and human tyrosinase for the purpose of identifying anti-melanogenic ingredients. The most active compound 2-((4-methoxyphenethyl)amino)-2-oxoethyl (E)-3-(2,4-dihydroxyphenyl) acrylate (Ph9), inhibited mushroom tyrosinase with an IC₅₀ of 0.059 nM, while 2-((4-methoxyphenethyl)amino)-2-oxoethyl cinnamate (Ph6) had an IC₅₀ of 2.1 nM compared to the positive control, kojic acid IC₅₀ 16700 nM. Results of human tyrosinase inhibitory activity in A375 human melanoma cells showed that compound (Ph9) and Ph6 exhibited 94.6% and 92.2% inhibitory activity respectively while the positive control kojic acid showed 72.9% inhibition. Enzyme kinetics reflected a mixed type of inhibition for inhibitor Ph9 (K_i 0.093 nM) and non-competitive inhibition for Ph6 (K_i 2.3 nM) revealed from Lineweaver–Burk plots. In silico docking studies with mushroom tyrosinase (PDB ID:2Y9X) predicted possible binding modes in the catalytic site for these active compounds. Ph9 displayed no PAINS (pan-assay interference compounds) alerts. Our results showed that compound Ph9 is a potential candidate for further development of tyrosinase inhibitors.

Synthesis, computational studies, tyrosinase inhibitory kinetics and antimelanogenic activity of hydroxy substituted 2-[(4-acetylphenyl)amino]-2-oxoethyl derivatives

The over expression of melanogenic enzymes like tyrosinase caused many hyperpigmentaion disorders. The present work describes the synthesis of hydroxy substituted 2-[(4-acetylphenyl)amino]-2-oxoethyl derivatives 3a-e and 5a-e as antimelanogenic agents. The tyrosinase inhibitory activity of synthesized derivatives 3a-e and 5a-e was determined and it was found that derivative 5c possesses excellent activity with IC50 = 0.0089 µM compared to standard kojic acid (IC50 = 16.69 µM). The presence of hydroxyl groups at the ortho and the para position of cinnamic acid phenyl ring in compound 5c plays a vital role in tyrosinase inhibitory activity. The compound 5d also exhibited good activity (IC50 = 8.26 µM) compared to standard kojic acid. The enzyme inhibitory kinetics results showed that compound 5c is a competitive inhibitor while 5d is a mixed-type inhibitor. The mode of binding for compounds 5c and 5d with tyrosinase enzyme was also assessed and it was found that both derivatives irreversibly bind with target enzyme. The molecular docking and molecular dynamic simulation studies were also performed to find the position of attachment of synthesized compounds at tyrosinase enzyme (PDB ID 2Y9X). The results showed that all of the synthesized compounds bind well with the active binding sites and most potent derivative 5c formed stable complex with target protein. The cytotoxicity results showed that compound 5c is safe at a dose of 12 µg/mL against murine melanoma (B16F10) cells. The same dose of 5c was selected to determine antimelanogenic activity; the results showed that it produced antimelenogenic effects in murine melanoma (B16F10) cells. Based on our investigations, it was proposed that compound 5c may serve as a lead structure to design more potent antimelanogenic agents.

Hydroxyl substituted benzoic acid/cinnamic acid derivatives: Tyrosinase inhibitory kinetics, anti-melanogenic activity and molecular docking studies

The inhibition of tyrosinase is an established strategy for treating hyperpigmentation. Our previous findings demonstrated that cinnamic acid and benzoic acid scaffolds can be effective tyrosinase inhibitors with low toxicity. The hydroxyl substituted benzoic and cinnamic acid moieties of these precursors were incorporated into new chemotypes that displayed in vitro inhibitory effect against mushroom tyrosinase. The most active compound, (2-(3-methoxyphenoxy)-2-oxoethyl (E)-3-(4-hydroxyphenyl) acrylate) 6c, inhibited tyrosinase with an IC₅₀ of 5.7 µM, while (2-(3-methoxyphenoxy)-2-oxoethyl 2, 4-dihydroxybenzoate) 4d had an IC₅₀ of 23.8 µM. In comparison, the positive control, kojic acid showed tyrosinase inhibition with an IC₅₀ = 16.7 µM. Analysis of enzyme kinetics revealed that 6c and 4d displayed noncompetitive reversible inhibition of the second tyrosinase enzymatic reaction with K_i values of 11 µM and 130 µM respectively. In silico docking studies with mushroom tyrosinase (PDB ID 2Y9X) predicted possible binding modes in the catalytic site for these active compounds. The phenolic para-hydroxy group of the most active compound 6c is predicted to interact with the catalytic site Cu⁺⁺ ion. The methoxy part of this compound is predicted to form a hydrogen bond with Arg 268. Compound 6c had no observable toxic effects on cell morphology or cell viability at the highest tested concentration of 91.4 µM. When dosed at 91.4 µM onto B16F10 melanoma cells in vitro6c showed anti-melanogenic effects equivalent to kojic acid at 880 µM. 6c displayed no PAINS (pan-assay interference compounds) alerts. Our results show that compound 6c is a more potent tyrosinase inhibitor than kojic acid and is a candidate for further development. Our exposition of the details of the interactions between 6c and the catalytic pocket of tyrosinase provides a basis for rational design of additional potent inhibitors of tyrosinase, built on the cinnamic acid scaffold.