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Introduction:Alzheimer's disease (AD) has increased at an alarming rate and is now a worldwide health problem. Inhibitors of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) leading to inhibition of acetylcholine breakdown constitute the main therapeutic strategy for AD. Psoralen was investigated as inhibitor of AChE enzyme in an attempt to explore its potential for the management of AD.Materials and Methods:Psoralen was isolated from powdered Psoralea corylifolia fruits. AChE enzyme inhibitory activity of different concentrations of psoralen was investigated by use of in vitro enzymatic and molecular docking studies. Further, the enzyme kinetics were studied using Lineweaver-Burk plot.Results:Psoralen was found to inhibit AChE enzyme activity in a concentration-dependent manner. Kinetic studies showed psoralen inhibits AChE in a competitive manner. Molecular docking study revealed that psoralen binds well within the binding site of the enzyme showing interactions such as π-π stacking and hydrogen bonding with residues present therein.Conclusion:The result of AChE enzyme inhibitory activity of the psoralen in this study is promising. It could be further explored as a potential candidate for further development of new drugs against AD.

Aceclofenac, a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug, has a propensity to cause gastric ulcers, while zinc ions are known to possess anti-ulcer and anti-inflammatory activities. With a view to reduce the gastroenteropathies associated with aceclofenac, its zinc complex was prepared and characterized using spectroscopy and differential scanning calorimetry. In vitro hydrolysis study showed that zinc complex of aceclofenac is more stable in HCl buffer (pH 1.2) than in phosphate buffer (pH 7.4) indicating the stability of the complex in stomach. In silico testing of the aceclofenac and its complex using PASS (Prediction of activity spectra of substances) software revealed that the complex might possess antiinflammatory activity which was confirmed by carrageenan-induced rat paw edema test. It has been found that antiinflammatory activity of this complex is comparable with that of parent drug along with reduction in ulcer index. Thus, the use of complex is suggested to be more preferable than aceclofenac alone.

Fragment-based drug design was used to identify Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) inhibitors. Screening of ligands against the Mtb DHFR enzyme resulted in the identification of multiple fragment hits with IC50 values in the range of 38-90 μM versus Mtb DHFR and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values in the range of 31.5-125 μg/mL. These fragment scaffolds would be useful for anti-tubercular drug design.

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