Curcumin has shown pharmacological properties against different phenotypes of various disease models. Different synthetic routes have been employed to develop its numerous derivatives for diverse and improved therapeutic roles. In this study, we have synthesized curcumin derivatives containing isoxazole, pyrazoles, and pyrimidines and then the synthesized molecules were evaluated for their anti-inflammatory and antinociceptive activities in experimental animal models. Acute toxicity of synthesized molecules was evaluated in albino mice by oral administration. Any behavioral and neurological changes were observed at dose of 10 mg/kg body weight.Additionally, cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) enzyme inhibition studies were performed through in vitro assays. In vivo anti-inflammatory studies showed that curcumin with pyrimidines was the most potent anti-inflammatory agent which inhibited induced edema from 74.7% to 75.9%. Compounds 7, 9, and 12 exhibited relatively higher prevention of writhing episodes than any other compound with antinociceptive activity of 73.2%, 74.9%, and 71.8%, respectively. This was better than diclofenac sodium (reference drug, 67.1% inhibition). Similarly, COX-2 in vitro inhibition assays results revealed that compound 12 (75.3% inhibition) was the most potent compound.Molecular docking studies of 10, 11, and 12 compounds in human COX-2 binding site revealed the similar binding modes as that of other COX-2-selective inhibitors.
K E Y W O R D Santi-inflammatory, COX-2 inhibition, curcumin derivatives, molecular modeling Chemically curcumin is diferuloylmethane which has attracted much attention of medicinal chemists for various diseases and therapeutic agents development. It has shown its pharmacological safety and wide range of biological activities such as antibacterial to anticancer agent [1][2][3][4] . Currently, curcumin is acclaimed to be one of the most widely researched naturally occurring chemopreventive agent which is cytoprotective to healthy human cells [5][6][7] . In spite of important therapeutic application, limited therapeutic utility concerns are associated with curcumin because of its poor absorption and fast metabolism under physiological conditions [8] . Active methylene and keto moiety are believed to be responsible for its rapid metabolism. In order to circumvent the problem of rapid metabolism and to improve its pharmacokinetics profile, several synthetic modifications have been studied on carbonyl and active methylene moiety [9] . In present study, isoxazole, N-substituted pyrazoles, and pyrimidine ring were incorporated in this focused segment of curcumin. Nitrogen heterocyclic moieties such as pyrazoles and pyrimidines containing derivatives gained considerable attention in medicinal chemistry for