Design, synthesis, and biological evaluation of chalcone acetamide derivatives against triple negative breast cancer.

Chalcones are chemical scaffolds found in natural products, particularly in plants, and are considered for structural diversity in medicinal chemistry for drug development. Herein, we designed and synthesised novel acetamide derivatives of chalcone, characterizing them using 1H NMR, 13C NMR, HRMS, and IR spectroscopic methods. These derivatives were then screened against human cancer cells for cytotoxicity using the SRB assay. Among the tested derivatives, 7g, with a pyrrolidine group, exhibited better cell growth inhibition activity against triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) cells. Further assays, including SRB, colony formation, and fluorescent dye-based microscopic analysis, confirmed that 7g significantly inhibited MDA-MB-231 cell proliferation. Furthermore, 7g promoted apoptosis by upregulating cellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels and disrupting mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP). Elevated expression of pro-apoptotic proteins (Bax and caspase-3) and a higher Bax/Bcl-2 ratio with downregulation of anti-apoptotic (Bcl-2) protein levels were observed in TNBC cells. The above results suggest that 7g can promote cellular death through apoptotic mechanisms in TNBC cells.

Canniprene B, a new prenylated dihydrostilbene with cytotoxic activities from the leaves of Cannabis sativa.

A new, canniprene B (4), along with five known (1-3 and 5-6) dihydrostilbenes were isolated from the leaves of Cannabis sativa collected at CSIR - IIIM, Jammu, India. Structures of all isolated compounds were elucidated by spectroscopic data analysis, including 1D and 2D NMR, and HR-ESI-MS. Canniprene B is a new prenylated dihydrostilbenes, a positional isomer of the known compound canniprene (5). The cytotoxic activities of these compounds (1-6) were evaluated using the SRB assay against a panel of five human cancer cell lines. Notably, canniprene B (4) exhibited varying levels of cytotoxicity with IC50 values ranging from 2.5 to 33.52 µM, demonstrating the most potent activity against pancreatic cancer cells.

Insights into the drug screening approaches in leishmaniasis.

Leishmaniasis, a tropically neglected disease, is responsible for the high mortality and morbidity ratio in poverty-stricken areas. Currently, no vaccine is available for the complete cure of the disease. Current chemotherapeutic regimens face the limitations of drug resistance and toxicity concerns indicating a great need to develop better chemotherapeutic leads that are orally administrable, potent, non-toxic, and cost-effective. The anti-leishmanial drug discovery process accelerated the desire for large-scale drug screening assays and high-throughput screening (HTS) technology to identify new chemo-types that can be used as potential drug molecules to control infection. Using the HTS approach, about one million compounds can be screened daily within the shortest possible time for biological activity using automation tools, miniaturized assay formats, and large-scale data analysis. Classical and modern in vitro screening assays have led to the progression of active compounds further to ex vivo and in vivo studies. In the present review, we emphasized on the HTS approaches employed in the leishmanial drug discovery program. Recent in vitro screening assays are widely explored to discover new chemical scaffolds. Developing appropriate experimental animal models and their related techniques is necessary to understand the pathophysiological processes and disease host responses, paving the way for unraveling novel therapies against leishmaniasis.

Protective Role of Curcumin and Flunixin Against Acetic Acid-Induced Inflammatory Bowel Disease via Modulating Inflammatory Mediators and Cytokine Profile in Rats.

Ulcerative colitis is a chronically recurrent inflammatory bowel disease of unknown origin. The present study is to evaluate the effect of flunixin and curcumin in experimentally induced ulcerative colitis in rats. Animals were randomly divided into four groups, each consisting of 12 animals: normal control group, acetic acid group, curcumin-treated group, and flunixin-treated group. Induction of colitis by intracolonic administration of 4% acetic acid produced severe macroscopic inflammation in the colon, 14 days after acetic acid administration as assessed by the colonic damage score. Microscopically, colonic tissues showed ulceration, edema, and inflammatory cells infiltration. Biochemical studies revealed increased serum levels of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), colonic alkaline phosphatase (ALP), and myeloperoxidase (MPO). Oxidative stress was indicated by elevated lipid peroxide formation and depleted reduced glutathione concentrations in colonic tissues. After induction of colitis, treatment with curcumin (50 mg/kg daily, p.o.) and flunixin (2.5 mg/kg daily, s.c.) decreased serum LDH, ALP, interleukin (IL)-1ß, and tumor necrosis factor-α levels, as well as colonic MPO and lipid peroxide levels, whereas increased colonic prostaglandin E2 and IL-10 concentrations were observed. Moreover, effective doses of curcumin and flunixin were effective in restoring the histopathological changes induced by acetic acid administration. The findings of the present study provide evidence that flunixin may be beneficial in patients with inflammatory bowel disease.