The synergistic effects of betanin and radiotherapy in a prostate cancer cell line: an in vitro study.

BACKGROUND: Prostate cancer is among the most common cancers in men with an increasing incidence rate. Radiation therapy (RT) is a therapeutic strategy for the management of prostate cancer after surgery; nonetheless, it has different side effects on neighboring healthy cells/tissues. Moreover, radioresistance has been an increasing phenomenon in the recent years. Therefore, there is an urgent need for the introduction of a safe and effective radiosensitizing agent. Accordingly, the recent trend in the development of novel drugs is accompanied by a push toward natural compounds. Our study evaluated the effects of betanin combined with RT as a potential radiosensitizing agent in the PC-3 cell line. METHODS AND RESULTS: MTT assay was utilized to determine the growth inhibitory impact of betanin. The possible synergistic effect was evaluated with CompuSyn software upon Trypan blue exclusion test. Apoptosis-related gene expression was evaluated via Real-time PCR and the protein expression of P21 was determined using western blotting. A synergistic anticancer effect with an optimal combination index of 0.61 was achieved by treating PC-3 cells with betanin and RT. The results pointed out that betanin synergistically triggered RT-mediated apoptosis and cell cycle arrest through modulating gene and protein expression in comparison with each of the monotherapies. CONCLUSION: These findings shed light on the synergistic antitumor effect of betanin and RT in prostate cancer, indicating the potential use of betanin as a radiosensitizer agent.

Synthesis, computational molecular docking analysis and effectiveness on tyrosinase inhibition of kojic acid derivatives.

Tyrosinase inhibitors have become increasingly important as whitening agents and for the treatment of pigmentary disorders. In this study, the synthesis of kojic acid derivatives having 2-substituted-3-hydroxy-6-hyroxymethyl/chloromethyl/methyl/morpholinomethylpiperidinyl- methyl/pyrrolidinylmethyl-4H-pyran-4-one structure (compounds 1-30) with inhibitory effects on tyrosinase enzyme were described. One-pot Mannich reaction was carried out by using kojic acid/chlorokojic acid/allomaltol and substituted benzylpiperazine derivatives in presence of formaline. Subsequently, cyclic amine (morpholine, piperidine and pyrrolidine) derivatives of the 6th-position of chlorokojic acid were obtained with nucleophilic substitutions in basic medium. The structures of new compounds were identified by FT-IR, 1H- and 13C NMR, ESI-MS and elemental analysis data. The potential mushroom tyrosinase inhibitory activity of the compounds were evaluated by the spectrophotometric method using l-DOPA as a substrate and kojic acid as the control agent. The potential inhibitory activity was also investigated in silico using molecular docking simulation method. Tyrosinase inhibitory action was significantly more efficacious for several compounds (IC50: 86.2-362.1 µM) than kojic acid (IC50: 418.2). Compound 3 bearing 3,4-dichlorobenzyl piperazine moiety was proven to have the highest inhibitory activity. The results of docking studies showed that according to the predicted conformation of compound 3 in the enzyme binding site, hydroxymethyl group provides a metal complex with copper ions and enzyme. Thus, this interaction explain the high inhibitory activities of the compounds 1, 3 and 4 possessing hydroxymethyl substituent supporting the mushroom assay results with docking studies. In accordance with the results, it is suggested that Mannich bases of kojic acid bearing substituted benzyl piperazine groups (compounds 1, 3, 4, 11, 13, 14, 23, 24, 28, and 29) could be promising antityrosinase agents. Additionally, considering the relationship between tyrosinase inhibitory activity results and molecular docking, a new tyrosinase inhibition mechanism can be proposed.

Evaluation of bioactivities of chlorokojic acid derivatives against dermatophytes couplet with cytotoxicity.

In an attempt to find novel antifungal agents with improved activity, a series of compounds bearing 6-chloromethyl-3-hydroxy-2-substituted 4H-pyran-4-one moiety were synthesized and examined for their cytotoxic evaluation and antifungal activities against both standard and isolated dermatophytic fungal species Microsporum gypseum, Trichophyton mentagrophytes var. erinacei and Epidermophyton floccosum.

Design, synthesis and in vivo/in vitro screening of novel chlorokojic acid derivatives.

A series of novel Mannich bases of chlorokojic acid (2-chloromethyl-5-hydroxy-4H-pyran-4-one) were synthesized and their biological activities were investigated. Anticonvulsant activity results according to phase-I tests of Antiepileptic Drug Development (ADD) Program revealed that compound 13 was the most effective one at 4 h against subcutaneous pentylenetetrazole (scPTZ)-induced seizure test. Antimicrobial activities were evaluated in vitro against bacteria and fungi by using broth microdilution method. The antitubercular activities against Mycobacterium tuberculosis and M. avium were discussed with Resazurin microplate assay (REMA). The antimicrobial activity results indicated that compounds 1 and 12 (MIC: 8-16 µg/mL) showed higher activity against Gram negative bacteria while compound 12 had MIC: 4-16 µg/mL against Gram positive bacteria. Compound 1 was the most active one with MIC values of 8-32 µg/mL against fungi. Mannich bases also exhibit significant antitubercular activity in a MIC range of 4 to 32 µg/mL, especially compound 18 against M. avium.

Synthesis and anticonvulsant evaluation of some novel (thio)semicarbazone derivatives of arylalkylimidazole.

A number of novel 2-(1H-imidazole-1-yl)-1-aryl-substituted ethane-1-one N-substituted phenyl(thio)semicarbazones (1-14) were synthesized to test for their anticonvulsant activity against the two seizure models, maximal electroshock (MES) and subcutaneous pentylenetetrazol (scPTZ). Title compounds were prepared by the reaction of appropriate (thio)semicarbazides with ketones. Neurotoxicity was screened by the rotarod test. The structure of compounds was confirmed by elemental analysis results and the spectroscopic techniques such as IR, 1H-NMR, 13C-NMR, ESI-MS and HRMS. As a result of activity studies, when the thiosemicarbazone compounds were compared at different doses, 2-(1H-imidazole-1-yl)-1-(2-naphthyl)ethane-1-one N-(3-chlorophenyl)thiosemicarbazone (3) and 2-(1H-imidazole-1-yl)-1-(2-biphenyl)ethane-1-one N-(4-fluorophenyl) thiosemicarbazone (12) were found selective and highly active compounds against MES-induced seizures after 0.5 h and 4 h, respectively. Beside this, 2-(1H-imidazole-1-yl)-1-(1-biphenyl)ethane-1-one N-(4-methylphenyl)thiosemicarbazone (14) was the most active compound in the scPTZ-induced seizure test after 4 h. The 2,4-dichlorophenyl (9) and 2-fluorophenyl (10) substituted biphenyl derivatives of thiosemicarbazone compounds showed neurotoxicity at higher doses.

A study of cytotoxicity of novel chlorokojic acid derivatives with their antimicrobial and antiviral activities.

A series of 6-chloromethyl-3-hydroxy-2-substituted 4H-pyran-4-one derivatives were synthesized and tested for their antimicrobial and antiviral activities. Mannich base derivatives were prepared through the reaction of substituted piperazine or piperidine derivatives on chlorokojic acid and formaline. The structures of the synthesized compounds were confirmed by IR, (1)H and (13)C NMR, ESI-MS, and elemental analysis. According to the activity studies, compounds 2-7 (MIC: 1-2 microg/mL) were found to be highly active against Bacillus subtilis and Staphylococcus aureus, while compounds 3, 5 and 6 showed significant activity against Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Acinetobacter baumannii. Also, compounds 2-7 were more remarkably active against Candida albicans and Candida parapsilosis (MIC: 4-8 microg/mL). Additionally, compound 2 was the most active one against RNA virus PI-3.

Synthesis and anticonvulsant activity of new kojic acid derivatives.

A series of new 3-hydroxy-6-hydroxymethyl-2-substituted 4H-pyran-4-one derivatives were synthesized as potential anticonvulsant compounds. Mannich compounds were prepared by the reaction of appropriate substituted piperazine derivatives with kojic acid and formaline. The structure of the synthesized compounds was confirmed using the elementary analysis results and spectroscopic techniques such as IR, 1H-NMR and ESI-MS. Anticonvulsant activities of the synthesized compounds were examined by maximal electroshock (MES) and subcutaneous Metrazol (scMet) induced seizure tests. Neurotoxicity was determined by the rotorod toxicity test. All these tests were performed according to procedures of the Antiepileptic Drug Development (ADD) program. According to the activity studies, 2-[4-(4-chlorophenyl)piperazin-1-ylmethyl]-3-hydroxy-6-hydroxymethyl-4H-pyran-4-one (compound 11) against MES seizures and 3-hydroxy-6-hydroxymethyl-2-[4-(2-methoxyphenyl)piperazin-1-ylmethyl]-4H-pyran-4-one (compound 7) against scMet seizures were determined to be the most active compounds at all doses without neurotoxicity.

Anticonvulsant and neurotoxicity evaluation of some novel kojic acids and allomaltol derivatives.

A series of new 3-hydroxy-6-hydroxymethyl/methyl-2-substituted 4H-pyran-4-ones were synthesized and prepared by the reaction of kojic acid or allomaltol with piperidine derivatives and formaline as potential anticonvulsant compounds. The structure of the synthesized compounds was confirmed using the elemental analysis results and the spectroscopic techniques such as IR, 1H-NMR, and ESI-MS. Anticonvulsant activities were examined by maximal electroshock (MES) and subcutaneous Metrazol (scMet)-induced seizure tests. Neurotoxicity was determined by the rotorod toxicity test. All these tests were performed in accordance with the procedures of the Antiepileptic Drug Development (ADD) program. According to the activity studies and at all doses, 3-hydroxy-2-[(4-hydroxy-4-phenylpiperidin-1-yl)methyl]-6-methyl-4H-pyran-4-one (compound 1), 2-{[4-(4-chlorophenyl)-3,6-dihydropyridin-1(2H)-yl]methyl}-3-hydroxy-6-methyl-4H-pyran-4-one (compound 6), 2-[(4-acetyl-4-phenylpiperidin-1-yl)methyl]-3-hydroxy-6-(hydroxymethyl)-4H-pyran-4-one (compound 11), and 2-{[4-(4-chlorophenyl)-3,6-dihydropyridin-1(2H)-yl] methyl}-3-hydroxy-6-hydroxymethyl-4H-pyran-4-one (compound 12) were found to have anticonvulsant activity against MES-induced seizures at 4 h. Also, 2-{[4-(4-bromophenyl)-4-hydroxypiperidin-1-yl]methyl}-3-hydroxy-6-(hydroxymethyl)-4H-pyran-4-one (compound 8) was determined to be the most active compound against scMet-induced seizures at all doses at 0.5 and 4 h. In the rotorod neurotoxicity screening, all compounds showed no toxicity at all doses.

Synthesis and anticonvulsant activity of some new hexahydropyrimidine-2,4-dione derivatives.

In this study, twelve new hexahydropyrimidine-2,4-dione derivatives were synthesized and screened for their anticonvulsant activities. All the compounds (7a-1) which have 6-arylhexahydropyrimidine-2,4-dione and N,N-disubstituted dithiocarbamate structures were prepared by the reaction with appropriate 3-(2-chloroethyl)-6-arylhexahydropyrimidine-2,4diones and the corresponding N,N-disubstituted dithiocarbamate potassium salts. The structure of the synthesized compounds was confirmed by UV, IR, 1H-NMR and elemental analysis. Their anticonvulsant activities were determined by maximal electroshock (MES), subcutaneous pentetrazol (metrazol, scMet) and rotorod toxicity tests for neurological deficits. According to the activity studies, 6-(4-chlorophenyl)hexahydropyrimidine-2,4-dione derivatives (7e-h) were found to be highly protective against MES and scMet. Neurotoxicity was not observed in any of the tested compounds.

Synthesis and evaluation of anticonvulsant and antimicrobial activities of 3-hydroxy-6-methyl-2-substituted 4h-pyran-4-one derivatives.

In this study, thirteen 3-hydroxy-6-methyl-2-substituted 4H-pyran-4-one derivatives were synthesized for the evaluation of their potential anticonvulsant activity. Mannich bases were prepared by the reaction of substituted piperazine derivatives with allomaltol and formaline. The structures of the synthesized compounds were confirmed by IR, (1)H-NMR and elemental analysis. Their anticonvulsant activities were determined in vivo by maximal electroshock (MES), sub-cutaneous Metrazol (scMet), and rotorod toxicity tests for neurological deficits. The antimicrobial activities of the synthesized compounds were investigated in vitro against some bacteria and fungi using the microdilution broth method. Ac-cording to the activity studies, 3-hydroxy-6-methyl-2-[4-(2-trifluoromethyl-phenyl)-piperazin-1-ylmethyl]-4H-pyran-4-one (3i) was the compound determined to be most active in the scMet test for all doses at four hours and for the 300 mg/kg dose at half an hour. 2-[4-(4-Chloro-phenyl)-piperazin-1-ylmethyl]-3-hydroxy-6-methyl-4H-pyran-4-one (3f) was found to be protective against MES whereas 2-chlorophenyl derivative (3e) was not. Looking at the antifungal activity results, compounds 3b, 3h, and 3i were determined to have activity against all fungi.

New analgesic and antiinflammatory agents 4(1H)-pyridinone derivatives.

A series of 1,2,5-trisubstituted 4(1H)-pyridinone derivatives (7-14) were synthesised by using 4-pyrone derivatives with primary amines in ethanol. The structures of the synthesised compounds were confirmed by analytical and spectral data (UV, IR and 1H-NMR and microanalysis). Analgesic and antiinflammatory activities of the synthesised compounds were investigated by acetic acid-induced writhing syndrome and carrageenan rat paw edema tests. All of the test compounds exhibited higher analgesic activities than acetyl salicylic acid and showed higher antiinflammatory activities than indomethacin. The anti-inflammatory activity and gastric ulceration potential of the compounds were tested using indomethacin as reference drug.