Synthesis and Evaluation of Voltage-Gated Sodium Channel Blocking Pyrroline Derivatives Endowed with Both Antiarrhythmic and Antioxidant Activities.

Under the hypothesis that cardioprotective agents might benefit from synergism between antiarrhythmic activity and antioxidant properties, a small series of mexiletine analogues were coupled with the 2,2,5,5-tetramethylpyrroline moiety, known for its antioxidant effect, in order to obtain dual-acting drugs potentially useful in the protection of the heart against post-ischemic reperfusion injury. The pyrroline derivatives reported herein were found to be more potent as antiarrhythmic agents than mexiletine and displayed antioxidant activity. The most interesting tetramethylpyrroline congener, a tert-butyl-substituted analogue, was at least 100 times more active as an antiarrhythmic than mexiletine.

Yield and Quality Characteristics of Brassica Microgreens as Affected by the NH4:NO3 Molar Ratio and Strength of the Nutrient Solution.

Microgreens are gaining more and more interest, but little information is available on the effects of the chemical composition of the nutrient solution on the microgreen yield. In this study, three Brassica genotypes (B. oleracea var. italica, B. oleracea var. botrytis, and Brassica rapa L. subsp. sylvestris L. Janch. var. esculenta Hort) were fertigated with three modified strength Hoagland nutrient solutions (1/2, 1/4, and 1/8 strength) or with three modified half-strength Hoagland nutrient solutions with three different NH4:NO3 molar ratios (5:95, 15:85, and 25:75). Microgreen yields and content of inorganic ions, dietary fiber, proteins, α-tocopherol, and ß-carotene were evaluated. Micro cauliflower showed the highest yield, as well as a higher content of mineral elements and α-tocopherol (10.4 mg 100 g-1 fresh weight (FW)) than other genotypes. The use of nutrient solution at half strength gave both a high yield (0.23 g cm-2) and a desirable seedling height. By changing the NH4:NO3 molar ratio in the nutrient solution, no differences were found on yield and growing parameters, although the highest ß-carotene content (6.3 mg 100 g-1 FW) was found by using a NH4:NO3 molar ratio of 25:75. The lowest nitrate content (on average 6.8 g 100 g-1 dry weight) was found in micro broccoli and micro broccoli raab by using a nutrient solution with NH4:NO3 molar ratios of 25:75 and 5:95, respectively. Micro cauliflower fertigated with a NH4:NO3 molar ratio of 25:75 showed the highest dry matter (9.8 g 100 g-1 FW) and protein content (4.2 g 100 g-1 FW).

Nitro-substituted tetrahydroindolizines and homologs: Design, kinetics, and mechanism of α-glucosidase inhibition.

A series of 1-[(methylsulfonyl)methyl]-2-nitro-5,6,7,8-tetrahydroindolizines and homologs were designed, prepared, and evaluated as non-sugar-type α-glucosidase inhibitors. The inhibitory activity appeared to be related to cyclo homologation with the best congeners being tetrahydroindolizines. The introduction of a methoxycarbonyl group as an additional hydrogen bond acceptor into the exocyclic methylene group was beneficial affording the most potent congener 3e (half maximal inhibitory concentration, IC50=8.0±0.1µM) which displayed 25-fold higher inhibitory activity than 1-deoxynojirimycin (2, IC50=203±9µM)-the reference compound. Kinetic analysis indicated that compound 3e is a mixed inhibitor with preference for the free enzyme over the α-glucosidase-substrate complex (Ki,free=3.6µM; Ki,bound=7.6µM). Molecular docking experiments were in agreement with kinetic results indicating reliable interactions with both the catalytic cleft and other sites. Circular dichroism spectroscopy studies suggested that the inhibition exerted by 3e may involve changes in the secondary structure of the enzyme. Considering the relatively low molecular weight of 3e together with its high fraction of sp3 hybridized carbon atoms, this nitro-substituted tetrahydroindolizine may be considered as a good starting point towards new leads in the area of α-glucosidase inhibitors.

Synthesis, antiarrhythmic activity, and toxicological evaluation of mexiletine analogues.

Four mexiletine analogues have been tested for their antiarrhythmic, inotropic, and chronotropic effects on isolated guinea pig heart tissues and to assess calcium antagonist activity, in comparison with the parent compound mexiletine. All analogues showed from moderate to high antiarrhythmic activity. In particular, three of them (1b,c,e) were more active and potent than the reference drug, while exhibiting only modest or no negative inotropic and chronotropic effects and vasorelaxant activity, thus showing high selectivity of action. All compounds showed no cytotoxicity and 1b,c,d did not impair motor coordination. All in, these new analogues exhibit an interesting cardiovascular profile and deserve further investigation.

The chemosensitizing agent lubeluzole binds calmodulin and inhibits Ca(2+)/calmodulin-dependent kinase II.

An affinity capillary electrophoresis (ACE) method to estimate apparent dissociation constants between bovine brain calmodulin (CaM) and non-peptidic ligands was developed. The method was validated reproducing the dissociation constants of a number of well-known CaM ligands. In particular, the potent antagonist 125-C9 was ad hoc synthesized through an improved synthetic procedure. The ACE method was successfully applied to verify CaM affinity for lubeluzole, a well-known neuroprotective agent recently proved useful to potentiate the activity of anti-cancer drugs. Lubeluzole was slightly less potent than 125-C9 (Kd = 2.9 ± 0.7 and 0.47 ± 0.06 µM, respectively) and displayed Ca(2+)/calmodulin-dependent kinase II (CaMKII) inhibition (IC50 = 40 ± 1 µM). Possible binding modes of lubeluzole to CaM were explored by docking studies based on the X-ray crystal structures of several trifluoperazine-CaM complexes. An estimated dissociation constant in good agreement with the experimental one was found and the main aminoacidic residues and interactions contributing to complex formation were highlighted. The possibility that interference with Ca(2+) pathways may contribute to the previously observed chemosensitizing effects of lubeluzole on human ovarian adenocarcinoma and lung carcinoma cells are discussed.

Comparison Between Different Flavored Olive Oil Production Techniques: Healthy Value and Process Efficiency.

Three different flavoring methods of olive oil were tested employing two different herbs, thyme and oregano. The traditional method consist in the infusion of herbs into the oil. A second scarcely diffused method is based on the addition of herbs to the crushed olives before the malaxation step during the extraction process. The third innovative method is the implementation of the ultrasound before the olive paste malaxation. The objective of the study is to verify the effect of the treatments on the quality of the product, assessed by means of the chemical characteristics, the phenol composition and the radical scavenging activity of the resulting oils. The less favorable method was the addition of herbs directly to the oil. A positive effect was achieved by the addition of herbs to the olive paste and other advantages were attained by the employment of ultrasound. These last two methods allow to produce oils "ready to sell", instead the infused oils need to be filtered. Moreover, the flavoring methods applied during the extraction process determine a significant increment of phenolic content and radical scavenging activity of olive oils. The increments were higher when oregano is used instead of thyme. Ultrasound inhibited the olive polyphenoloxidase, the endogenous enzyme responsible for olive oil phenol oxidation. This treatment of olive paste mixed with herbs before malaxation was revealed as the most favorable method due to the best efficiency, reduced time consumption and minor labor, enhancing the product quality of flavored olive oil.

Stereoselective Modulation of P-Glycoprotein by Chiral Small Molecules.

Inhibition of drug efflux pumps such as P-glycoprotein (P-gp) is an approach toward combating multidrug resistance, which is a significant hurdle in current cancer treatments. To address this, N-substituted aryloxymethyl pyrrolidines were designed and synthesized in their homochiral forms in order to investigate the stereochemical requirements for the binding site of P-gp. Our study provides evidence that the chiral property of molecules could be a strategy for improving the capacity for interacting with P-gp, as the most active compounds of the series stereoselectively modulated this efflux pump. The naphthalene-1-yl analogue (R)-2-[(2,3-dichlorophenoxy)methyl]-1-(naphthalen-1-ylmethyl)pyrrolidine) [(R)-7 a] emerged foremost for its potency and stereoselectivity toward P-gp, with the S enantiomer being nearly inactive. The modulation of P-gp by (R)-7 a involved consumption of ATP, thus demonstrating that the compound behaves as a P-gp substrate.

N-(Phenoxyalkyl)amides as MT(1) and MT(2) ligands: antioxidant properties and inhibition of Ca(2+)/CaM-dependent kinase II.

Recently a series of chiral N-(phenoxyalkyl)amides have been reported as potent MT(1) and MT(2) melatonergic ligands. Some of these compounds were selected and tested for their antioxidant properties by measuring their reducing effect against oxidation of 2',7'-dichlorodihydrofluorescein (DCFH) in the DCFH-diacetate (DCFH-DA) assay. Among the tested compounds, N-[2-(3-methoxyphenoxy)propyl]butanamide displayed potent antioxidant activity that was stereoselective, the (R)-enantiomer performing as the eutomer. This compound displayed strong cytoprotective activity against H(2)O(2)-induced cytotoxicity resulting slightly more active than melatonin, and performed as Ca(2+)/calmodulin-dependent kinase II (CaMKII) inhibitor, too.

Design, synthesis, and pharmacological effects of structurally simple ligands for MT(1) and MT(2) melatonin receptors.

A series of phenoxyalkyl and phenylthioalkyl amides were prepared as melatoninergic ligands. Modulation of affinity of the newly synthesized compound by applying SARs around the terminal amide moiety, the alkyl chain, and the methoxy group on the aromatic ring provides compounds with nanomolar affinity for both melatonin receptor subtypes. Affinity towards MT(1) and MT(2) receptors were modulated also exploiting chirality. The investigation of intrinsic activity revealed that all the tested compounds behave as full or partial agonists.

Hydroxylated analogs of mexiletine as tools for structural-requirements investigation of the sodium channel blocking activity.

[2-(2-Aminopropoxy)-1,3-phenylene]dimethanol 1 and 4-(2-aminopropoxy)-3-(hydroxymethyl)-5-methylphenol 2, two dihydroxylated analogs of mexiletine - a well known class IB anti-arrhythmic drug - were synthesized and used as pharmacological tools to investigate the blocking-activity requirements of human skeletal muscle, voltage-gated sodium channel. The very low blocking activity shown by newly synthesized compounds corroborates the hypothesis that the presence of a phenolic group in the para-position to the aromatic moiety and/or benzylic hydroxyl groups on the aromatic moiety of local anesthetic-like drugs impairs either the transport to or the interaction with the binding site in the pore of Na(+) channels.