Synthesis and evaluation of novel rutaecarpine derivatives and related alkaloids derivatives as selective acetylcholinesterase inhibitors.

A series of novel rutaecarpine derivatives and related alkaloid derivatives 3-aminoalkanamido-substituted rutaecarpine 4a-f and 7,8-dehydrorutaecarpine 5a-c, and 6-aminoalkanamido-substituted 3-[2-(3-Indolyl)ethyl]-4(3a)-quinazolinones 8a-c, were synthesized and subjected to pharmacological evaluation as acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitors. The synthetic compounds exhibited strong inhibitory activity for AChE and high selectivity for AChE over BuChE. The structure-activity relationships were discussed and their binding conformation and simultaneous interactions mode were further clarified by kinetic characterization and the molecular docking studies.