In vitro and in silico studies of bis (indol-3-yl) methane derivatives as potential α-glucosidase and α-amylase inhibitors.

In this paper, bis (indol-3-yl) methanes (BIMs) were synthesised and evaluated for their inhibitory activity against α-glucosidase and α-amylase. All synthesised compounds showed potential α-glucosidase and α-amylase inhibitory activities. Compounds 5 g (IC50: 7.54 ± 1.10 µM), 5e (IC50: 9.00 ± 0.97 µM), and 5 h (IC50: 9.57 ± 0.62 µM) presented strongest inhibitory activities against α-glucosidase, that were ∼ 30 times stronger than acarbose. Compounds 5 g (IC50: 32.18 ± 1.66 µM), 5 h (IC50: 31.47 ± 1.42 µM), and 5 s (IC50: 30.91 ± 0.86 µM) showed strongest inhibitory activities towards α-amylase, ∼ 2.5 times stronger than acarbose. The mechanisms and docking simulation of the compounds were also studied. Compounds 5 g and 5 h exhibited bifunctional inhibitory activity against these two enzymes. Furthermore, compounds showed no toxicity against 3T3-L1 cells and HepG2 cells.HighlightsA series of bis (indol-3-yl) methanes (BIMs) were synthesised and evaluated inhibitory activities against α-glucosidase and α-amylase.Compound 5g exhibited promising activity (IC50 = 7.54 ± 1.10 µM) against α-glucosidase.Compound 5s exhibited promising activity (IC50 = 30.91 ± 0.86 µM) against α-amylase.In silico studies were performed to confirm the binding interactions of synthetic compounds with the enzyme active site.

Synthesis and Biological Activity Evaluation of 2-Cyanopyrrole Derivatives as Potential Tyrosinase Inhibitors.

In order to find potential inhibitors of tyrosinase, two series of pyrrole derivatives A (1-17) and B (1-8) were synthesized and screened for their inhibitory activities on tyrosinase. Most of the 2-cyanopyrrole derivatives exhibited effective inhibitory activities. In particular, A12 exhibited the strongest inhibitory activities, with the IC50 values of 0.97 µM, which is ∼30 times stronger than the reference inhibitor kojic acid (IC50: 28.72 µM). The inhibitory mechanism analysis results revealed that A12 was a reversible and mixed-type inhibitor. Molecular docking experiments clarified the interaction between A12 with tyrosinase. Furthermore, A12 (100 µM) presented effective inhibitory effect on tyrosinase in B16 melanoma cells with inhibition of 33.48%, which was equivalent to that of Kojic acid (39.81%). Accordingly, compound A12 may serve as the lead structure for the further design of potent tyrosinase inhibitors. Molecular docking studies confirmed the interaction between the compound and tyrosinase.

Synthesis of Benzylidene Analogs of Oleanolic Acid as Potential α-Glucosidase and α-Amylase Inhibitors.

A series of benzylidene analogs of oleanolic acid 4a∼4s were synthesized and assessed for their α-glucosidase and α-amylase inhibitory activities. The results presented that all synthesized analogs exhibited excellent-to-moderate inhibitory effects on α-glucosidase and α-amylase. Analog 4i showed the highest α-glucosidase inhibition (IC50: 0.40 µM), and analog 4o presented the strongest α-amylase inhibition (IC50: 9.59 µM). Inhibition kinetics results showed that analogs 4i and 4o were reversible and mixed-type inhibitors against α-glucosidase and α-amylase, respectively. Simulation docking results demonstrated the interaction between analogs and two enzymes. Moreover, analogs 4i and 4o showed a high level of safety against 3T3-L1 and HepG2 cells.