A promising strategy for combating bacterial infections involves the development of agents that disarm the virulence factors of pathogenic bacteria, thereby reducing their pathogenicity without inducing direct lethality. Sortase A, a crucial enzyme responsible for anchoring virulence factors to the cell surface of several pathogenic bacteria, has emerged as a possible target for antivirulence strategies. A series of hippocastanum species (, , , and ) were used to prepare ethanol- and water-based extracts for assessing their effect on sortase A.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe present study focuses on the chemical characterization of a dry extract obtained from the species (L.) Schreb, evaluating its antioxidant properties, toxicity, and in silico profile. Quantitative analysis of the dry extract revealed a notable amount of phytochemical compounds: 59.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF(L.) has remarkable ethnopharmacological properties and is widely used in traditional medicine. The present study investigated stem bark (Berberidis cortex) by extraction with 50% ethanol.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF(L.) is one of the essential spices most frequently used in our daily routine and has remarkable ethnobotanical and pharmacological properties. Its fruits are rich in vitamins, minerals, carotenoids, and numerous other phenolic metabolites with a well-known antioxidant activity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe process of drug discovery constitutes a highly intricate and formidable undertaking, encompassing the identification and advancement of novel therapeutic entities [...
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThiadiazole derivatives have garnered significant attention in the field of medicinal chemistry due to their diverse pharmacological activities, including anticancer properties. This article presents the synthesis of a series of thiadiazole derivatives and investigates their chemical characterization and potential anticancer effects on various cell lines. The results of the nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) analyses confirmed the successful formation of the target compounds.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPharmaceuticals (Basel)
November 2023
Osteoarthritis is characterized by progressive articular cartilage degradation, subchondral bone changes, and synovial inflammation, and affects various joints, causing pain and disability. Current osteoarthritis therapies, primarily focused on pain management, face limitations due to limited effectiveness and high risks of adverse effects. Safer and more effective treatments are urgently needed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe use of natural compounds as an alternative to synthetic molecules has become a significant subject of interest in recent decades. Stilbenoids are a group of phenolic compounds found in many plant species and they have recently gained the focus of a multitude of studies in medicine and chemistry, resveratrol being the most representative molecule. In this review, we focused on the research that illustrates the therapeutic potential of this class of natural molecules considering various diseases with higher incidence rates.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPIM-1 kinase is a serine-threonine phosphorylating enzyme with implications in multiple types of malignancies, including prostate, breast, and blood cancers. Developing better search methodologies for PIM-1 kinase inhibitors may be a good strategy to speed up the discovery of an oncological drug approved for targeting this specific kinase. Computer-aided screening methods are promising approaches for the discovery of novel therapeutics, although certain limitations should be addressed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNew pyrrolo[1,2-]pyridazines were synthesized by 3 + 2 cycloaddition reaction between mesoionic oxazolo-pyridazinones and methyl/ethyl propiolate. The mesoionic compounds were generated in situ by action of acetic anhydride on 3(2)pyridazinone acids obtained from corresponding esters by alkaline hydrolysis followed by acidification. The structures of the compounds were confirmed by elemental analyses and IR, H-NMR, C-NMR, and X-ray diffraction data.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis paper describes the synthesis of new heterocycles from oxazol-5(4)-one and 1,2,4-triazin-6(5)-one classes containing a phenyl-/4-bromophenylsulfonylphenyl moiety. The oxazol-5(4)-ones were obtained via condensation of 2-(4-(4-X-phenylsulfonyl)benzamido)acetic acids with benzaldehyde/4-fluorobenzaldehyde in acetic anhydride and in the presence of sodium acetate. The reaction of oxazolones with phenylhydrazine, in acetic acid and sodium acetate, yielded the corresponding 1,2,4-triazin-6(5)-ones.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDiseases such as cancer, neurological pathologies and chronic pain represent currently unmet needs. The existing pharmacotherapeutic options available for treating these conditions are limited by lack of efficiency and/or side effects. Transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 ion channel emerged as an attractive therapeutic target for developing new analgesic, anti-cancer and antiepileptic agents.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPain is one of the most common symptoms experienced by patients. The use of current analgesics is limited by low efficacy and important side effects. Transient receptor potential vanilloid-1 (TRPV1) is a non-selective cation channel, activated by capsaicin, heat, low pH or pro-inflammatory agents.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDue to the structure of acylhydrazones both by the pharmacophore -CO-NH-N= group and by the different substituents present in the molecules of compounds of this class, various pharmacological activities were reported, including antitumor, antimicrobial, antiviral, antiparasitic, anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory, antiedematous, antiglaucomatous, antidiabetic, antioxidant, and actions on the central nervous system and on the cardiovascular system. This fragment is found in the structure of several drugs used in the therapy of some diseases that are at the top of public health problems, like microbial infections and cardiovascular diseases. Moreover, the acylhydrazone moiety is present in the structure of some compounds with possible applications in the treatment of other different pathologies, such as schizophrenia, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, and Huntington's disease.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBacterial virulence factors are mediating bacterial pathogenesis and infectivity. Collagenases are virulence factors secreted by several bacterial stains, such as , , and . These enzymes are among the most efficient degraders of collagen, playing a crucial role in host colonization.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPlants (Basel)
September 2022
Since medicinal plants are widely used in treating various diseases, phytoconstituents enrichment strategies are of high interest for plant growers. First of all, we investigated the impact of phytosociological cultivation on polyphenolic content (total flavonoids-TFL, and total polyphenols-TPC) of peppermint ( L.) and lemon balm ( L.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF"Drug repositioning" is a modern strategy used to uncover new applications for out-of-date drugs. In this context, nalidixic acid, the first member of the quinolone class with limited use today, has been selected to obtain nine new metal complexes with lanthanide cations (La, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb); the experimental data suggest that the quinolone acts as a bidentate ligand, binding to the metal ion via the keto and carboxylate oxygen atoms, findings that are supported by DFT calculations. The cytotoxic activity of the complexes has been studied using the tumoral cell lines, MDA-MB-231 and LoVo, and a normal cell line, HUVEC.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe current study describes the synthesis, physicochemical characterization and cytotoxicity evaluation of a new series of pyrrole derivatives in order to identify new bioactive molecules. The new pyrroles were obtained by reaction of benzimidazolium bromide derivatives with asymmetrical acetylenes in 1,2-epoxybutane under reflux through the Huisgen [3 + 2] cycloaddition of several ylide intermediates to the corresponding dipolarophiles. The intermediates salts were obtained from corresponding benzimidazole with bromoacetonitrile.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA new series of pyrazolo-benzimidazole hybrid Mannich bases were synthesized, characterized by H-NMR, C-NMR, IR, UV-Vis, MS, and elemental analysis. In vitro cytotoxicity of the new compounds studied on fibroblast cells showed that the newly synthesized pyrazolo-benzimidazole hybrid derivatives were noncytotoxic until the concentration of 1 μM and two compounds presented a high degree of biocompatibility. The antibacterial and antibiofilm activity of the newly synthesized compounds was assayed on Gram-positive ATCC25923, ATCC29212, and Gram-negative ATCC27853, ATCC25922 strains.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMethicillin‑resistant (MRSA) infections are usually found in hospital settings and, frequently, in patients with open wounds. One of the most critical virulence factors affecting the severity and recurrence of infections is the biofilm; increasing antibiotic resistance due to biofilm formation has led to the search for alternative compounds to antibiotics. The present study aimed to use boric acid and potassium metaborate against MRSA infection in a fibroblast wound model.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOxidative stress is among the major triggers for many important human functional disorders, which often lead to various metabolic or tissue diseases. The aim of the study is to obtain five standardized vegetal extracts (-CE, -RE, -TE, -CHE, and -AE) that contain active principles with an essential role in protecting liver cells against free radicals and quantify their antioxidant actions. The compounds of therapeutic interest from the analyzed extracts were identified and quantified using the UHPLC-HRMS/MS technique.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe current work presents an objective overview of the impact of one important heterocyclic structure, the pyrazole ring, in the development of anti-proliferative drugs. A set of 1551 pyrazole derivatives were extracted from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) database, together with their growth inhibition effects (GI%) on the NCI's panel of 60 cancer cell lines. The structures of these derivatives were analyzed based on the compounds' averages of GI% values across NCI-60 cell lines and the averages of the values for the outlier cells.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe pharmacological inhibition of the bacterial collagenases (BC) enzymes is considered a promising strategy to block the virulence of the bacteria without targeting the selection mechanism leading to drug resistance. The chemical structures of the collagenase A (ColA) inhibitors were analyzed using Bemis-Murcko skeletons, Murcko frameworks, the type of plain rings, and docking studies. The inhibitors were classified based on their structural architecture and various scoring methods were implemented to predict the probability of new compounds to inhibit ColA and other BC.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFChronic pain determines a substantial burden on individuals, employers, healthcare systems, and society. Most of the affected patients report dissatisfaction with currently available treatments. There are only a few and poor therapeutic options-some therapeutic agents are an outgrowth of drugs targeting acute pain, while others have several serious side effects.
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