Symmetrical and unsymmetrical substituted 2,5-diarylidene cyclohexanones as anti-parasitic compounds.

Symmetrical and unsymmetrical bis-aryl-α,ß-unsaturated ketones were synthesized in moderate to excellent yield by treating cyclohexanone with various aldehydes. Dimethylammonium dimethylcarbamate (DIMCARB) was used as both catalyst and reaction medium for the synthesis of monoarylidenes cycloadduct intermediates, which was further used to produce diarylidene cyclohexanones. All the 34 compounds synthesized were evaluated for their anti-proliferative activity, particularly against promastigote of Leishmania amazonensis, epimastigoteand trypomastigoteof Trypanosoma cruzi. Eighteen compounds displayed anti-leishmanial activity against promastigotes of L. amazonensis with IC50 values ranging from 2.8 to 10 µM. In addition, two compounds exhibited significant antitrypanosomal activity against epimastigotes of T. cruzi with IC50 values of 5.2 ±â€¯0.8 and 3.0 ±â€¯0.0 µM, while five compounds exhibited activity from 15.0 ±â€¯1.4 to 30.2 ±â€¯1.8 µM against trypomastigote of T. cruzi. Moreover, all compounds were more selective against the parasites than the epithelial cells. The unsymmetrical compounds 16, 28, 30 and 33 can be considered as favorable anti-parasitic lead molecule having IC50 and EC50 values in the low-micromolar range, better than the reference drug benznidazole, and low cytotoxicity against Vero cells. The potent compounds were screened in silico against 17 enzymes of T. cruzi and best scoring were found against Dihydroorotate Dehydrogenase.

Synthesis, activity, and docking studies of eugenol-based glucosides as new agents against Candida sp.

Seventeen new synthetic derivatives of eugenol (6, 8-15 and 8'-15') were planned following literature reports on antifungal activities of nitroeugenol and eugenol glucoside. The anti-Candida activity of these compounds was investigated by in vitro assay, and the cytotoxicity evaluation was performed with the most active compounds. The peracetylated glucosides presented better biological results than their hydroxylated analogues. The glucoside 11, a 4-nitrobenzamide, showed the best potency (MIC50 range 11.0-151.84 µm), the wider spectrum of action, and overall the best selectivity indexes, especially against C. tropicalis (~30) and C. krusei (~15). To investigate its possible mechanism of action, glucoside 11 was subjected to molecular docking studies with Candida sp. enzymes involved in ergosterol biosynthesis. Results have shown that the peracetyl glucosyl moiety and the 4-nitrobenzamide group in 11 are effectively involved in its high affinity with the active site of squalene epoxidase.