Search

Background: The ongoing coronavirus pandemic poses a significant social, economic, and health threat worldwide. The situation is exacerbated further by vaccine hesitancy and the ongoing development of mutant strains that could lead to drug resistance. It is therefore critical to find new anti-viral chemotherapeutic agents to reduce or end the epidemic. This study aimed to investigate the antiprotease activity of the oxoaporphine alkaloids in Xylopia aethiopica. Methods: Computational techniques such as molecular docking were used to probe the oxoaporphine alkaloids in the plant for their ability to inhibit the main protease of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). The docking score calculations which quantifies the predictive binding affinity of both ligand and target was carried out using Auto-Dock Vina software. Results: The results showed that oxoaporphine alkaloids had a better binding affinity than hydroxychloroquine sulfate (standard). Similarly, the values of the chemical descriptors obtained for these alkaloids revealed notable profiles, and these alkaloids also have good oral bioavailability according to rule of five. Conclusion: These findings imply that these plant-based alkaloids could be investigated further as prospective leads against SARS-CoV-2 main protease. Furthermore, structural-activity relationships on these compounds could be an effective way to mitigate the predicted side effects

Diabetes mellitus (DM) and related complications continue to exert a significant burden on health care systems globally. Although conventional pharmacological therapies are beneficial in the management of this metabolic condition, it is still necessary to seek novel potential molecules for its management. On this basis, we have synthesised and evaluated the anti-diabetic properties of four novel thiazolidinedione (TZD)-derivatives. The TZD derivatives were synthesised through the pharmacophore hybridisation strategy based on N-arylpyrrole and TZD. The resultant derivatives at different concentrations were screened against key enzymes of glucose metabolism and glucose utilisation in the liver (HEP-G2) cell line. Additionally, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ activation was performed through docking studies. Docking of these molecules against PPAR-γ predicted strong binding, similar to that of rosiglitazone. Hence, TZDD2 was able to increase glucose uptake in the liver cells as compared to the control. The enzymatic inhibition assays showed a relative inhibition activity; with all four derivatives exhibiting ≥ 50% inhibition activity in the α-amylase inhibition assay and a concentration dependent activity in the α-glucosidase inhibition assay. All four derivatives exhibited ≥30% inhibition in the aldose reductase inhibition assay, except TZDD1 at 10 µg/mL. Interestingly, TZDD3 showed a decreasing inhibition activity. In the dipeptidyl peptidase–4 inhibition assay, TZDD2 and TZDD4 exhibited ≥20% inhibition activity.

Compounds containing arylpyrrole-, 1,2,4-triazole- and hydrazone structural frameworks have been widely studied and demonstrated to exhibit a wide range of pharmacological properties. Herein, an exploratory series of new 1,2,4-triazole derivatives designed by amalgamation of arylpyrrole and 1,2,4-triazole structural units via a hydrazone linkage is reported. The synthesised compounds were tested in vitro for their potential activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) H37Rv strain. The most promising compound 13 - the derivative without the benzene ring appended to the pyrrole unit displayed acceptable activity (MIC90 = 3.99 μM) against MTB H37Rv, while other compounds from the series exhibited modest to weak antimycobacterial activity with MIC90 values in the range between 7.0 and125 μM. Furthermore, in silico results, predicated using the SwissADME web tool, show that the prepared compounds display desirable ADME profile with parameters within acceptable range.