In vitro anticancer, antioxidant and enzyme inhibitory potentials of endemic Cephalaria elazigensis var. purpurea with in silico studies.

In this study, the therapeutic potential and phytochemical composition of ethanolic extract of Cephalaria elazigensis var. purpurea (CE), an endemic species, were investigated. For this purpose, the antiproliferative effect of CE on the MCF-7 human breast cancer cell line was evaluated by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay, and its effectiveness on colony formation and cell migration was analyzed with clonogenic assay and wound healing assay, respectively. In addition, the cell death detection ELISA (CDDE) assay was conducted to determine the pro-apoptotic capacity of CE. The IC50 value of the CE was determined as 324.2 ± 14.7 µg/mL. Furthermore, upon 1000 µg/mL CE treatment, there was 4.96-fold increase in the population of cells undergoing apoptosis compared to the untreated control cells. The antioxidant activity tests were performed by DPPH free radical, ABTS cation radical, ferric-ion reducing power (FRAP) and ferrous-ion chelating power (FCAP) assays. Antioxidant activity values for the DPPH, ABTS and FRAP assays were found to be 125.6 ± 6.3, 34.09 ± 0.1 and 123.4 ± 4.2 µmol TE/mg DE, respectively. We further determined the effect of CE ethanolic extract against acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE) enzymes. CE plays an effective inhibitory role in AChE and BuChE (AChE: IC50: 10.54 µg/mL, BuChE: IC50: 6.84 µg/mL) respectively. Further, molecular docking stuy was conducted to understand the nature of the all compound against AChE an BChE. It is revealed that α-Linolenic acid shows lowest binding energy (-7.90 kcal/mol) towards AChE, on the other side, Linoleic acid shows good binding affinity (-7.40 kcal/mol) for BChE.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.

Design, synthesis, spectroscopic characterizations, single crystal X-ray analysis, in vitro xanthine oxidase and acetylcholinesterase inhibitory evaluation as well as in silico evaluation of selenium-based N-heterocyclic carbene compounds.

Herein, eight new NHC-based selenourea derivatives were synthesized and characterized by using spectroscopic method (1H, 19F, and 13C NMR, FT-IR), and elemental analysis techniques. These compounds were synthesized by mixing benzimidazolium salts, potassium carbonate, and selenium powder in ethyl alcohol. Additionally, the molecular and crystal structures of the three compounds (1c, 2b, and 2c) were determined using the single-crystal x-ray diffraction (XRD) method. Diffraction analysis demonstrated the partial carbon-selenium double-bond character of these compounds. All compounds were determined to be highly potent inhibitors for AChE and XO enzymes. The IC50 values for the compounds were found in the range of 0.361-0.754 µM for XO and from 0.995 to 1.746 µM for AChE. The DNA binding properties of the compounds were investigated. These compounds did not have a remarkable DNA binding property. Also, DPPH radical scavenging activities of the compounds were also investigated. Compounds (1c), (2a), (3a), and (3b) exhibited more pronounced DPPH radical scavenging activity when compared to other compounds. Docking studies were applied by using AutoDock 4 to determine interaction mechanism of the selected compounds (1a), (1b), and (3b). The compound (1b) has good binding affinity (-9.78 kcal/mol) against AChE, and (-6.86 kcal/mol) for XO target. Drug similarity properties of these compounds compared to positive controls were estimated and evaluated by ADMET analysis. Furthermore, molecular dynamics simulations have been applied to understand the accuracy of docking studies. These findings and the defined compounds could be potential candidates for the discovery and progress of effective medicine(s) for AChE and XO in the future.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.

A Biochemical Approach for Hedysarum candidissimum from Turkey: Screening Phytochemicals, Evaluation of Biological Activites, and Molecular Docking Study.

This study was designed to screen the phytochemical composition and investigate the biological activities of Hedysarum candidissimum extracts and also support the results with molecular docking studies. LC/MS/MS analysis revealed the presence of 22 phytochemical constituents (mainly phenolic acids, flavonoids, and flavonoid glycosides) in the plant structure. The methanol extract exhibited the strongest antioxidant activity among all the extracts with its strong DPPH radical scavenging and iron reducing capacity, as well as high phenolic and flavonoid contents. Additionally, it was found to be the most promising acetylcholinesterase (AChE: IC50 : 93.26 µg/mL) and α-glycosidase (AG: IC50 : 28.57 µg/mL) inhibitory activities, supported by the major phenolics of the species through in silico studies. Ethyl acetate extract had the strongest cytotoxic effect on HT-29 (IC50 : 63.03 µg/mL) and MDA-MB-453 (IC50 : 95.36 µg/mL) cancer cell lines. Both extracts exhibited considerable apoptotic and anti-migrative effects on HT-29 cells. The investigations provide phyto-analytical and bio-pharmacological results which can be extended by in vivo studies in the future.

Turanecio hypochionaeus: Determination of Its Polyphenol Contents, and Bioactivities Potential Assisted with in Silico Studies.

The aim of this study was to identify and quantify the phenolic composition of Turanecio hypochionaeus Bosse and determine the anti-urease, anti-lipase, antidiabetic, anti-melanogenesis, antibacterial, and anti-Alzheimer properties. IC50 results for all enzymes were obtained between 0.234-116.50 µg/mL and this plant inhibited HMG_CoA R and glucosidase enzymes more with IC50 values of 0.234 and 116.50 µg/mL, respectively. Among the 11 secondary metabolites identified in T. hypochionaeus extract, chlorogenic acid 255.459±1.17 µg g-1 ), benzoic acid (56.251±1.98 µg g-1 ), and catechin (29.029±0.27 µg g-1 ) were determined as the most abundant phenolic compounds. According to the results of the tested microorganisms, the plant extracts showed antimicrobial and antifungal properties in a dose-dependent manner. In molecular docking study, the interactions of active compounds extracted from Turanecio hypochionaeus plant and showing activity against diverse metabolic enzymes were examined. The most active compound 1, (chlorogenic acid) has -12.80, -12.80, -12.60 and -12.00 kcal/mol binding energy value against HMG_CoA R, and α-amylase, α-glucosidase, and lipase, respectively.

Novel fluorine-containing chiral hydrazide-hydrazones: Design, synthesis, structural elucidation, antioxidant and anticholinesterase activity, and in silico studies.

In this study, a series of fluorine-containing chiral hydrazide-hydrazone derivatives [III-XII] from ʟ-cysteine ethyl ester hydrochloride was synthesized as new antioxidant and anticholinesterase agents. The antioxidant activity of these derivatives was evaluated by ABTS+· and DPPH· scavenging and CUPRAC assays and the anticholinesterase activity by the Ellman method spectrophotometrically. The results of the antioxidant assay showed that compounds V, IX, and X exhibited higher activity than BHT and α-tocopherol used as positive standards. Among the synthesized derivatives, compound IX (IC50 : 2.3 ± 1.6 µM) exhibited higher acetylcholinesterase inhibitory activity than galantamine (IC50 : 4.5 ± 0.8 µM). Compounds XI (IC50 : 9.6 ± 1.0 µM), IX (IC50 : 12.5 ± 1.6 µM), III (IC50 : 16.0 ± 1.6 µM), X (IC50 : 17.2 ± 1.8 µM), VI (IC50 : 20.2 ± 0.8 µM), XII (IC50 : 21.5 ± 1.0 µM), and VII (IC50 : 24.6 ± 0.6 µM) displayed better butyrylcholinesterase inhibitory activity than galantamine (IC50 : 46.03 ± 0.14 µM). ADME-Tox analysis was used to probe the drug-like properties of the compounds. Molecular docking studies were also applied to understand the interactions between compounds and targets. The docking calculations were supported by the experimental data. In particular, compound IX, having better activity than galantamine against acetylcholinesterase and butyrylcholinesterase enzymes, was visualized using molecular docking.

New piperidine-hydrazone derivatives: Synthesis, biological evaluations and molecular docking studies as AChE and BChE inhibitors.

Hydrazones and the piperidine ring containing compounds were considered as beneficial substrates in drug design. Therefore, this study was aimed at the synthesis of new benzoyl hydrazones derived from ethyl 4-oxopiperidine-1-carboxylate and 2,6-diphenylpiperidin-4-one. The synthesized compounds (1-19) were screened for their antioxidant, anticholinesterase and anticancer activities. The antioxidant capacity of the compounds was evaluated by using four complementary tests. The results showed that compound 7 and 17 have the higher lipid peroxidation inhibitory activity than the other compounds. In DPPH˙ scavenging assay, compounds 5, 6, 10, 14, 17 demonstrated better activity than that of standard BHT, while in ABTS+˙ scavenging assay compound 6 and 17 exhibited better activity among the other compounds. The CUPRAC assay disclosed that compound 2 displayed better activity than α-tocopherol. The anticholinesterase activity was performed against acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) enzymes. Compound 11 (IC50: 35.30 ± 1.11 µM) inhibited BChE better than galantamine (IC50: 46.03 ± 0.14 µM). We conclude that the compound 11 can be considered as a candidate for BChE inhibitor. Moreover docking method was applied to elucidate the AChE and BChE inhibitory mechanism of the compound 11. Molecular docking analysis revealed that compound 11 bound to BChE enzyme more efficiently when compared to the AChE due to its orientations and different types of interactions. In addition, the non-cytotoxic properties of the compounds brought them into prominence, although they did not show significant anticancer properties.