No abstract

Bacopa monnieri has been used in Ayurvedic medicine to improve memory and cognition. The active constituent responsible for its pharmacological effects is bacoside A, a mixture of dammarane-type triterpenoid saponins containing sugar chains linked to a steroid aglycone skeleton. Triterpenoid saponins have been reported to be transformed in vivo to metabolites that give better biological activity and pharmacokinetic characteristics. Thus, the activities of the parent compounds (bacosides), aglycones (jujubogenin and pseudojujubogenin) and their derivatives (ebelin lactone and bacogenin A1) were compared using a combination of in silico and in vitro screening methods. The compounds were docked into 5-HT1A, 5-HT2A, D1, D2, M1 receptors and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) using AutoDock and their central nervous system (CNS) drug-like properties were determined using Discovery Studio molecular properties and ADMET descriptors. The compounds were screened in vitro using radioligand receptor binding and AChE inhibition assays. In silico studies showed that the parent bacosides were not able to dock into the chosen CNS targets and had poor molecular properties as a CNS drug. In contrast, the aglycones and their derivatives showed better binding affinity and good CNS drug-like properties, were well absorbed through the intestines and had good blood brain barrier (BBB) penetration. Among the compounds tested in vitro, ebelin lactone showed binding affinity towards M1 (Ki = 0.45 μM) and 5-HT2A (4.21 μM) receptors. Bacoside A and bacopaside X (9.06 μM) showed binding affinity towards the D1 receptor. None of the compounds showed any inhibitory activity against AChE. Since the stimulation of M1 and 5-HT2A receptors has been implicated in memory and cognition and ebelin lactone was shown to have the strongest binding energy, highest BBB penetration and binding affinity towards M1 and 5-HT2A receptors, we suggest that B. monnieri constituents may be transformed in vivo to the active form before exerting their pharmacological activity.

Various works have been carried out in developing therapeutics against dengue. However, to date, no effective vaccine or anti-dengue agent has yet been discovered. The development of protease inhibitors is considered as a promising option, but most previous works have involved competitive inhibition. In this study, we focused on rational discovery of potential anti-dengue agents based on non-competitive inhibition of DEN-2 NS2B/NS3 protease. A homology model of the DEN-2 NS2B/NS3 protease (using West Nile Virus NS2B/NS3 protease complex, 2FP7, as the template) was used as the target, and pinostrobin, a flavanone, was used as the standard ligand. Virtual screening was performed involving a total of 13 341 small compounds, with the backbone structures of chalcone, flavanone, and flavone, available in the ZINC database. Ranking of the resulting compounds yielded compounds with higher binding affinities compared with the standard ligand. Inhibition assay of the selected top-ranking compounds against DEN-2 NS2B/NS3 proteolytic activity resulted in significantly better inhibition compared with the standard and correlated well with in silico results. In conclusion, via this rational discovery technique, better inhibitors were identified. This method can be used in further work to discover lead compounds for anti-dengue agents.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia among older people and the pathogenesis of this disease is associated with oxidative stress. Acetylcholinesterase inhibitors with antioxidant activities are considered potential treatments for AD. Some novel ketone derivatives of gallic hydrazide-derived Schiff bases were synthesized and examined for their antioxidant activities and in vitro and in silico acetyl cholinesterase inhibition. The compounds were characterized using spectroscopy and X-ray crystallography. The ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assays revealed that all the compounds have strong antioxidant activities. N-(1-(5-bromo-2-hydroxyphenyl)-ethylidene)-3,4,5-trihydroxybenzohydrazide (2) was the most potent inhibitor of human acetyl cholinesterase, giving an inhibition rate of 77% at 100 μM. Molecular docking simulation of the ligand-enzyme complex suggested that the ligand may be positioned in the enzyme's active-site gorge, interacting with residues in the peripheral anionic subsite (PAS) and acyl OPEN ACCESSMolecules 2012, 17 2409 binding pocket (ABP). The current work warrants further preclinical studies to assess the potential for these novel compounds for the treatment of AD.

The allylsilanes, (R)-E- and (R)-Z-4-trimethylsilylpent-2-ene 16, were prepared in essentially an enantiomerically and geometrically pure state (er >99.95 : 0.05, E : Z and Z : E >99.95 : 0.05) by, successively, conjugate addition of lithium dimethylcuprate to N-[(E)-3'-trimethylsilylpropenoyl]-(7S)-10,10-dimethyl-4-aza-5-thiatricyclo[5.2.1.0(3,7)]decane 5,5-dioxide 13, to give N-[(E)-(3'R)-3'-trimethylsilylbutanoyl]-(7S)-10,10-dimethyl-4-aza-5-thiatricyclo[5.2.1.0(3,7)]decane 5,5-dioxide, removal of the chiral auxiliary with bromomagnesium benzyloxide, aldol reaction with acetaldehyde, and decarboxylative elimination, to give either the Z- or E-isomer. Both the E- and Z-allylsilanes 16 reacted with the adamantyl cation to give mixtures of E- and Z-4-adamantylpent-2-enes 17. The E-allylsilane gave the E- and Z-products in a ratio of 40 : 60, and the Z-allylsilane gave the E- and Z-products in a ratio of 99.8:0.02. The enantiomer ratio was >99:1 for the reaction of the E-allylsilane giving the Z-product, 90:10 for the E-allylsilane giving the E-product, and 95 : 5 for the Z-allylsilane giving the E-product, showing that the reactions were stereospecific to a high degree, but not always quite completely so. The allenylsilane, 2-trimethylsilylpenta-2,3-diene 29, was prepared enantiomerically highly enriched (er 99:1) by copper-catalysed reaction of methylmagnesium chloride with (S)-4-trimethylsilylbut-3-yn-2-yl camphor-10-sulfonate 28. The allenylsilane 29 reacted with the adamantyl cation to give (S)-4-adamantylpent-2-yne (S)-30 with the same level of enantiomeric purity, showing that the reaction was, as accurately as can be measured, completely stereospecific. The allenylsilane 29 also reacted with isobutanal in the presence of titanium tetrachloride to give 2,4-dimethylhept-5-yn-3-ol as a mixture of diastereoisomers, syn 31 and anti 32, in a ratio of 95:5, with the major diastereoisomer present as a mixture of enantiomers (4R,5R):(4S,5S) in a ratio of 99:1, showing that the reaction was, as accurately as can be measured, completely stereospecific in the anti sense. The corresponding propargylsilane, 4-trimethylsilylpent-2-yne 37, reacted with the adamantyl cation to give dienes assigned the structures 2,3-diadamantyl-1,3-pentadiene 42 and 2,4-diadamantyl-1,3-pentadiene 43, and reacted with isobutanal in the presence of titanium tetrachloride to give 2-(1-hydroxy-2-methylpropyl)-3-trimethylsilylpenta-1,3-dienes 45 and 2,4-dimethyl-5-trimethylsilylhept-5-en-3-one 46. The enantiomerically enriched propargylsilane (R)-1,3-bis(trimethylsilyl)but-1-yne (er >99.7:0.3) was prepared from the sultam 13, by removal of the chiral auxiliary with lithium ethoxide, reduction of the ethyl ester to give (R)-3-trimethylsilylbutanal 60, enol triflate formation, beta-elimination and C-silylation. The propargylsilane reacted with 2,4-dinitrobenzaldehyde in the presence of titanium tetrachloride to give the allenes, 1-(2,4-dinitrophenyl)-2-trimethylsilylpenta-2,3-dienols 63-66, as two diastereoisomers in a ratio of 2 : 1, each of whi...