Synthesis, antioxidant, and antimicrobial evaluation of some 2-arylbenzimidazole derivatives.

A series of 2-arylbenzimidazole derivatives (3a-3p and 4a-4i) were synthesized and evaluated as potential antioxidant and antimicrobial agents. Their antioxidant properties were evaluated by various in vitro assays including hydroxyl radical (HO) scavenging, superoxide radical anion (O2(-)) scavenging, 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging, and ferric reducing antioxidant power. Results demonstrated that compounds with hydroxyl group at the 5-position of benzimidazole ring had a comparable or better antioxidant activity in comparison to standard antioxidant tert-butylhydroquinone (TBHQ). Markedly, compound 4h that showed the highest HO scavenging activity (EC50=46µM) in vitro had a significant reduction of 2,2'-azobis(2-amidinopropane) dihydrochloride (AAPH)-induced intracellular oxidative stress and H2O2-induced cell death. In addition, these compounds showed moderate to good inhibitory activity against Staphylococcus aureus selectively at noncytotoxic concentrations.