Investigating the potential of 6-substituted 3-formyl chromone derivatives as anti-diabetic agents using in silico methods

Abstract In exploring nature's potential in addressing diabetes-related conditions, this study investigates the therapeutic capabilities of 3-formyl chromone derivatives. Utilizing in silico methodologies, we focus on 6-substituted 3-formyl chromone derivatives (1–16) to assess their therapeutic potential in treating diabetes. The research examined the formyl group at the chromone’s C-3 position. ADMET, biological activities, were conducted along with B3LYP calculations using 3 different basis sets. The analogues were analyzed based on their parent structure obtained from PubChem. The HOMO–LUMO gap confirmed the bioactive nature of the derivatives, NBO analysis was performed to understand the charge transfer. PASS prediction revealed that 3-formyl chromone derivatives are potent aldehyde oxidase inhibitors, insulin inhibitors, HIF1A expression inhibitors, and histidine kinase. Molecular docking studies indicated that the compounds had a strong binding affinity with proteins, including CAD, BHK, IDE, HIF-α, p53, COX, and Mpro of SARS-CoV2. 6-isopropyl-3-formyl chromone (4) displayed the highest affinity for IDE, with a binding energy of − 8.5 kcal mol−1. This result outperformed the affinity of the reference standard dapagliflozin (− 7.9 kcal mol−1) as well as two other compounds that target human IDE, namely vitexin (− 8.3 kcal mol−1) and myricetin (− 8.4 kcal mol−1). MD simulations were revealed RMSD value between 0.2 and 0.5 nm, indicating the strength of the protein–ligand complex at the active site.