Inhibition of Mycobacterium tuberculosis tyrosine phosphatase PtpA by synthetic chalcones: Kinetics, molecular modeling, toxicity and effect on growth

Tuberculosis (TB) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality throughout the world, and it is estimated that one-third of the world`s population is infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Among a series of tested compounds, we have recently identified five synthetic chalcones which inhibit the activity of M. tuberculosis protein tyrosine phosphatase A (PtpA), an enzyme associated with M. tuberculosis infectivity. Kinetic studies demonstrated that these compounds are reversible competitive inhibitors. In this work we also carried out the analysis of the molecular recognition of these inhibitors on their macromolecular target, PtpA, through molecular modeling. We observed that the predominant determinants responsible for the inhibitory activity of the chalcones are the positions of the two methoxyl groups at the A-ring, that establish hydrogen bonds with the amino acid residues Arg17, His49, and Thr12 in the active site of PtpA, and the substitution of the phenyl ring for a 2-naphthyl group as B-ring, that undergoes p stacking hydrophobic interaction with the Trp48 residue from PtpA. Interestingly, reduction of mycobacterial survival in human macrophages upon inhibitor treatment suggests their potential use as novel therapeutics. The biological activity, synthetic versatility, and low cost are clear advantages of this new class of potential tuberculostatic agents. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The correlation between electronic structure and antimalarial activity of alkoxylated and hydroxylated chalcones

Chalcones have shown potential to several pharmacological applications including antimalarial properties. We employed multivariate data analysis to correlate the antimalarial activity with electronic structure descriptors obtained through quantum mechanical calculations. The results show high statistical significance and bring valuable insights in order to design new compounds. © 2013 Springer Science+Business Media New York.

Biotransformation of chalcones by the endophytic fungus Aspergillus flavus isolated from Paspalum maritimum trin

O fungo Aspergillus flavus isolado como endofítico da planta Paspalum maritimum Trin. foi avaliado quanto ao seu potencial de aplicação em reações de biotransformações. Os compostos chalcona (1), 3,4,5-trimetoxichalcona (2) e 2,3,4,4'-tetrametoxichalcona (3) foram biotransformados, respectivamente, na diidrochalcona (4), 3,4,5-trimetoxidiidrochalcona (5) e 2,3,4,4'-tetrametoxidiidrochalcona (6). As estruturas destes compostos foram determinadas por análises de RMN uni e bidimensionais e por espectrometria de massas. As diidrochalconas 5 e 6 são substâncias inéditas.

A general approach to the synthesis of substituted isoxazolo[4,3-c]quinolines via chalcones

A general and practical approach to the synthesis of substituted isoxazolo[4,3-c]quinolines from the substituted isoxazolines afforded by 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition between 2-nitrobenzonitrile oxide and chalcones is described. The SnCl2.2H2O-mediated reduction of the nitro group followed by intramolecular cyclization involving the amino and the keto groups in these substrates furnished a mixture of isoxazolo[4,3- c]-quinolines and 3,5-dihydro-isoxazolo[4,3-c]quinoline. In contrast, the reduction of these substrates with Fe-AcOH unexpectedly yielded 3-benzoyl-4-quinolinamine derivatives.

Efficient sonochemical synthesis of novel 3,5-diaryl-4,5-dihydro-1H-pyrazole-1-carboximidamides

An Ultrasound-assisted preparation of a series of novel 3,5-diaryl-4,5-dihydro-1H-pyrazole-1-carboximidamides that proceeds via the efficient reaction of chalcones with aminoguanidine hydrochloride under clean conditions is described. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Environmentally friendly sonocatalysis promoted preparation of 1-thiocarbamoyl-3,5-diaryl-4,5-dihydro-1H-pyrazoles

An efficient and green synthesis of thiocarbamoyl-3,5-diaryl-4,5-dihydro-1 H-pyrazoles via the condensation of chalcones with thiosemicarbazide in ethanol and KOH under ultrasound irradiation is reported. The products were isolated in good yields after short reaction times. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Online identification of chlorogenic acids, sesquiterpene lactones, and flavonoids in the Brazilian arnica Lychnophora ericoides Mart. (Asteraceae) leaves by HPLC-DAD-MS and HPLC-DAD-MS/MS and a validated HPLC-DAD method for their simultaneous analysis

Lychnophora ericoides Mart. (Asteraceae, Vernonieae) is a plant, endemic to Brazil, with occurrence restricted to the ""cerrado"" biome. Traditional medicine employs alcoholic and aqueous-alcoholic preparations of leaves from this species for the treatment of wounds, inflammation, and pain. Furthermore, leaves of L. ericoides are also widely used as flavorings for the Brazilian traditional spirit ""cachaca"". A method has been developed for the extraction and HPLC-DAD analysis of the secondary metabolites of L. ericoides leaves. This analytical method was validated with 11 secondary metabolites chosen to represent the different classes and polarities of secondary metabolites occurring in L. ericoides leaves, and good responses were obtained for each validation parameter analyzed. The same HPLC analytical method was also employed for online secondary metabolite identification by HPLC-DAD-MS and HPLC-DAD-MS/MS, leading to the identification of di-C-glucosylflavones, coumaroylglucosylflavonols, flavone, flavanones, flavonols, chalcones, goyazensolide, and eremantholide-type sesquiterpene lactones and positional isomeric series of chlorogenic acids possessing caffeic and/or ferulic moieties. Among the 52 chromatographic peaks observed, 36 were fully identified and 8 were attributed to compounds belonging to series of caffeoylferuloylquinic and diferuloylquinic acids that could not be individualized from each other.

Fotoquímica de chalconas fluoradas no estado sólido

Chalcone and its fluorinated derivatives were synthesized and photolyzed in the solid state. UV irradiation of chalcone and its monosubstituted fluorine derivatives (3- and 4-fluorchalcone) resulted in a mixture of anti-head-head (gamma-truxinic), sin-head-tail (alpha-truxilic) and anti-head-tail (epsilon-truxilic) dimers. On the other hand, upon irradiation of 3,4- and 3,5-difluorchalcone a stereoselective formation of the alpha-truxilic photodimer was observed, whereas for 2-substituted chalcones (2,3difluorchalcone, 2,5-difluorchalcone, 2,6-difluorchalcone and 2,3,4-trifluorchalcone) the beta-truxilic dimer was stereoselectively obtained. 2',3',4',5',6'-pentafluorchalcone was the less reactive of all chalcones studied and at least one of the possible photodimers, i.e the anti-head-head isomer, was identified. Irradiation of polyfluorinated chalcones such as 2,3,5,6-tetrafluor-, 2,3,4,5,6-pentafluor-, and 2,2',3,3',4,4',5,5',6,6'-decafluorchalcone led only to polymerization and/or decomposition products.

Evaluation of anti-Mycobacterium tuberculosis activity of Campomanesia adamantium (Myrtaceae)

The anti-Mycobacterium tuberculosis activity of Campomanesia adamantium fruits extracts were evaluated. Six compounds, identified as flavanones and chalcones were quantified by HPLC-DAD-UV. Promising antitubercular activity was observed with ethyl acetate extract (MIC 62.5 µg/mL) and their fractions (MIC values ranging from 39 to above 250 µg/mL). The better MIC result of 39 µg/mL was associated with two fractions that contain bigger amounts of 5,7-dihydroxy-6, 8-di-C-methylflavanone and 2',4'-dihydroxy-3',5'-dimethyl-6'-methoxychalcone. These compounds exhibited MICs >250 and 62.5 µg/mL, respectively, while their mixtures showed values ranging from 62.5 to 7.8 µg/mL, demonstrating a synergism between them.

Flavonoides e outras substâncias de Lippia sidoides e suas atividades antioxidantes

The chemical investigation of the ethanol extracts of stems, roots and leaves of Lippia sidoides led to the isolation of: steroid β-sitosterol, naphthoquinone tecomaquinone, monoterpene carvacrol, flavonoid 4',5,7-trihydroxyflavanone (naringenin), 3',4',5,7-tetrahydroxyflavanone and 4',5,7-trihydroxy-6-methoxyflavone flavonoids mixture, and 3,4,4',6'-tetrahydroxydihydrochalcone-2'-O-β-D-glucopyranoside and 4,4',6'-trihydroxydihydrochalcone-2'-O- β-D-glucopyranoside dihydrochalcones mixture. Their structures were characterized on the basis of spectral data, mainly ¹H and 13C NMR (1D and 2D) and mass spectra. The ethanol extract and isolated compounds were evaluated for their antioxidative properties using the method of inhibition of free radical DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl).

FLAVONOIDES DE Piper glandulosissimum Yuncker (Piperaceae)

Three flavanones, two chalcones and one dihydrochalcone were isolated from the branches of Piper glandulosissimum. All isolated compounds were characterized based on IR, UV, 1H and 13C NMR, including 2D NMR analyses (HMQC, HMBC, COSY and NOESY) and comparison with the literature. The compound 7-hydroxy-5,8-dimethoxyflavanone displayed antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus, S. epidermidis, Trichophyton mentagrophytes and Microsporum canis.

Determination of phenolic compounds and evaluation of antioxidant capacity of Campomanesia adamantium leaves

Five flavanones and three chalcones were isolated from Campomanesia adamantium Berg. (Myrtaceae) leaves. The contents of these compounds were determined by HPLC. The phenolic contents were also determined. The monitoring of the antioxidant activity was carried out by inhibition of peroxidation using the linoleic acid system and radical-scavenging (DPPH). The plants were collected from 4 distinct cities of the Mato Grosso do Sul State, Brazil. The different samples exhibited a range of 4.67-232.35 mg/g chalcones and 15.62-50.71 mg/g flavanones and phenolic contents of the 7.24-21.19 mg/g gallic acid. All extracts showed high antioxidant activity with a wide range of the radical-scavenging (DPPH) from 52.0 to 92.2 % and inhibition oxidation of linoleic acid from 14.6 to 94.2%.

Aurapten, a coumarin with growth inhibition against Leishmania major promastigotes

Several natural compounds have been identified for the treatment of leishmaniasis. Among them are some alkaloids, chalcones, lactones, tetralones, and saponins. The new compound reported here, 7-geranyloxycoumarin, called aurapten, belongs to the chemical class of the coumarins and has a molecular weight of 298.37. The compund was extracted from the Rutaceae species Esenbeckia febrifuga and was purified from a hexane extract starting from 407.7 g of dried leaves and followed by four silica gel chromatographic fractionation steps using different solvents as the mobile phase. The resulting compound (47 mg) of shows significant growth inhibition with an LD50 of 30 µM against the tropical parasite Leishmania major, which causes severe clinical manifestations in humans and is endemic in the tropical and subtropical regions. In the present study, we investigated the atomic structure of aurapten in order to determine the existence of common structural motifs that might be related to other coumarins and potentially to other identified inhibitors of Leishmania growth and viability. This compound has a comparable inhibitory activity of other isolated molecules. The aurapten is a planar molecule constituted of an aromatic system with electron delocalization. A hydrophobic side chain consisting of ten carbon atoms with two double bonds and negative density has been identified and may be relevant for further compound synthesis.

Antitrichomonal and antioxidant activities of Dorstenia barteri and Dorstenia convexa

Dorstenia barteri and D. convexa extracts and some isolated components of the former were investigated for effectiveness against Trichomonas gallinarum and compared with quercetin and quercitrin. The antioxidant activity of the extracts/compounds was also determined. The minimum lethal concentrations (MLCs) for the extract of D. barteri leaves and twigs at 24 h were found to be 15.625 and 15.625 µg/ml, respectively. However, the MLCs of the leaf and twig extract of D. convexa were 125 and 437.5 µg/ml, respectively. The prenylated and geranylated chalcones were as active as the prenylated flavones, 6-prenylapigenin and the diprenylated derivative 6,8-diprenyleridictyol. The order of the antitrichomonal activity of the compounds at 24 h was: quercetin (0.121 µg/ml) > quercitrin (0.244 µg/ml) > or = bartericin B (0.244 µg/ml) > bartericin A (0.73 µg/ml) > stigmasterol (0.98 µg/ml) > 6,8-diprenyleridictyol = isobavachalcone = dorsmanin F (31.25 µg/ml). D. barteri extracts, quercitrin, and bartericin A, and the prenylated flavonoids had potent antioxidant properties. The twig extract of D. barteri was more potent than the leaf extract. Moderate (EC50 >50 µg/ml) and high (EC50 <50 µg/ml) antioxidant activities were detected in the leaf and twig extracts of D. barteri and the prenylated flavonoids. Prenylated flavonoids and the isolated compounds with antioxidant properties described here may account for the anti-inflammatory action of these extracts. The antitrichomonal and antioxidant activities shown by the extracts and compounds in this study are consistent with the ethnomedicinal and local use of the Dorstenia species studied.