ABSTRACT
The growing interest in the chemistry of unsaturated ring-fused 1,3-heterocycles, in this particular case 1,3-oxazines, arise in part from their versatile pharmacological applications. In the present article, the evaluation of the in vitro and ex vivo antioxidant activity of two cyclohexene-fused oxazines is discussed. The in vitro antioxidant activity was evaluated by trapping the ABTS and hydroxyl radicals as well as the inhibition of the enzyme acetyl-cholinesterase and hemolysis of erythrocytes by 2,2'-Azobis(2-amidinopropane) dihydrochloride (AAPH). The results suggest that both unsaturated 1,3-oxazines are auspicious sources of biologically active compounds with good antioxidant properties. In addition, a comprehensive analysis of the interaction between these heterocycles with 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and 2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) (ABTS) radicals, as well as the measurements of redox potential, provided evidence for a mechanism of antioxidant activity that takes place through electron transfer (ET) processes.
ABSTRACT
Oxazine derivatives, a class of heterocyclic compounds, exhibit a variety of biological properties, such as anticonvulsant and antitumor activities. In this study, we evaluated the effect of two cyclohexene-fused 1,3-oxazines (cis1-benzyl-N-phenyl-1,4,4a,5,8,8a-hexahydro-3,1-benzoxazin-2-imine (1) and transN-phenyl-1,4,4a,5,8,8a-hexahydro-3,1-benzoxazin-2-imine (2)) in cultures of Bacillus cereus, Enterococcus faecalis, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Salmonella enterica, Serratia marcescens, Shigella flexneri and Staphylococcus aureus by the Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) and Minimum Bactericidal Concentration (MBC). Additionally, the ex vivo antiparasitic activity of oxazines was assessed against Schistosoma mansoni, a helminth that is one of the major agents of the disease schistosomiasis Also, oxazines were evaluated on three tumor cell lines, NCI-H292 (human lung carcinoma), MCF-7 (human breast adenocarcinoma) and HEp-2 (human cervix carcinoma), and two normal cell lines (Vero and red blood cells). Bioassays revealed that oxazine 2 is more effective against bacteria than oxazine 1, with the lowest MIC and MBC values of 3.91 and 32.5µg/mL, respectively. Similarly, compound 2 demonstrated higher antiparasitic activity than 1, and scanning electron microscopy analysis showed several morphological alterations in the tegument of worms in a concentration-dependent manner. In contrast, both oxazines exhibited low cytotoxic effects on cancer and normal cell lines. These results indicated that oxazines exerted direct effects on bacteria and parasite schistosomes. More importantly, since schistosomiasis control programs rely on one drug, praziquantel, oxazines may have the potential to become new antischistosomal agents.