Publications by authors named "Zupko I"

One of the major risks associated with the concomitant use of herbal products and therapeutic drugs is herb-drug interactions (HDIs). The most common mechanism leading to HDIs is the inhibition and/or induction of transport proteins and drug-metabolizing enzymes by herbal ingredients, causing changes in the pharmacokinetic disposition of the victim drug. The present study aimed to determine the potential interactions of (UT) (cat's claw), a popular herb due to its supposed health benefits.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

A new series of aminodiols, aminotetraols and 1,2,3-triazoles based on -gibberic acid were synthesized in a stereoselective manner, starting from commercially available gibberellic acid. -Gibberic acid, prepared from gibberellic acid according to a literature method, was applied to SeO/-BuOOH-mediated allylic oxidation, yielding the triol, which is a key intermediate. After protecting the 1,4-diol functionality as acetonide, epoxidation was performed using either -CPBA or -BuOOH/VO(acac) to produce the epoxy alcohol.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Monoterpene and 5-methylcoumarin- or 5-methylchromone-coupled meroterpenoids occurring mainly in the Asteraceae species proved to have high potency against protozoans, worms, and various tumor cells, which make them interesting targets for searching for new bioactive compounds. The African plant was applied in traditional medicine for healing chest pain and stomach aches. Three new meroterpenoids named centrapalus coumarin N (), pauciflorins P (), and Q (), and the already known cyclohoehnelia coumarin (), were isolated from the chloroform extract of , together with centrapalus coumarin O (), which was obtained for the first time from a natural source.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Chemotherapy is a known treatment modality that improves the long-term survival of breast cancer patients. However, due to the resistance to numerous anticancer drugs, alternative chemotherapeutic strategies are required. Regarding antimetabolic drugs, several compounds have proven anticancer properties, such as statins.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Cervical cancer presents a significant challenge to the global health of women. Despite substantial advances in human papillomavirus (HPV)-related cervical cancer vaccines, non-HPV-related cervical cancer is still waiting novel therapeutic options. Drug repurposing has provided a promising approach to improve cancer therapy in recent years.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

In the frame of our diversity-oriented research on multitarget small molecule anticancer agents, utilizing convergent synthetic sequences terminated by Sonogashira coupling reactions, a preliminary selection of representative alkyne-tethered vindoline hybrids was synthesized. The novel hybrids with additional pharmacophoric fragments of well-documented anticancer agents, including FDA-approved tyrosine-kinase inhibitors (imatinib and erlotinib) or ferrocene or chalcone units, were evaluated for their antiproliferative activity on malignant cell lines MDA-MB-231 (triple negative breast cancer), A2780 (ovarian cancer), HeLa (human cervical cancer), and SH-SY5Y (neuroblastoma) as well as on human embryonal lung fibroblast cell line MRC-5, which served as a reference non-malignant cell line for the assessment of the therapeutic window of the tested hybrids. The biological assays identified a trimethoxyphenyl-containing chalcone-vindoline hybrid () as a promising lead compound exhibiting submicromolar activity on A2780 cells with a marked therapeutic window.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Our research group previously identified graviquinone (1) as a promising antitumor metabolite that is formed in situ when the antioxidant methyl caffeate scavenges free radicals. Furthermore, it exerted a DNA damaging effect on cancer cells and a DNA protective effect on normal keratinocytes. To expand and explore chemical space around qraviquinone, in the current work we synthesized 9 new alkyl-substituted derivatives and tested their in vitro antitumor potential.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Telepharmacy can improve the delivery of pharmaceutical care services to patients. However, there are limited data regarding the knowledge, perceptions, and readiness (KPR) for telepharmacy in Indonesia. In this cross-sectional survey study, we assessed KPR and associated factors among Indonesian pharmacists, aiming to implement telepharmacy services in the future.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Benzylation of isopulegol furnished -benzyl-protected isopulegol, which was transformed into aminodiols epoxidation followed by ring opening of the corresponding epoxides and subsequent hydrogenolysis. On the other hand, (-)-isopulegol was oxidised to a diol, which was then converted into dibenzyl-protected diol derivatives. The products were then transformed into aminotriols by using a similar method.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The clinical application of 2-methoxyestradiol (2ME) in cancer therapy has been limited by its low solubility and rapid metabolism. Derivatives of 2ME have been synthesised to enhance bioavailability and decrease hepatic metabolism. Compound , an analog of 2ME, has demonstrated exceptional pharmacological activity, in addition to promising pharmacokinetic profile.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Fourteen diterpenes were isolated from methanol extracts of the aerial parts of, "Marginatus", and . The compounds belong to the abietane (-, -, and ), -clerodane (-), and -kaurane (, ) classes. Three new compounds were isolated from , including 3--acetylornatin G (), 3,12-di--acetylornatin G (), ornatin B methyl ester (), and ornatin F (), for which we proposed a revised structure.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Directed structural modifications of natural products offer excellent opportunities to develop selectively acting drug candidates. Natural product hybrids represent a particular compound group. The components of hybrids constructed from different molecular entities may result in synergic action with diminished side effects.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

A new library of -gibberic acid-based aminoalcohol regioisomers was synthesised stereoselectively starting from commercially available gibberellic acid, which yields -gibberic acid under mild acidic conditions. The successful formation of hydroxymethyl ketone derivative 5, by acid-mediated rearrangement of previously prepared epoxide, paved the way to obtain the desired 1,3-aminoalcohols through Schiff base formation. To obtain the desired regioisomers, the primary alcohol functionality of 5 was subjected to mesylation, then replaced with either primary amine or sodium azide.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Starting from isosteviol, a series of diterpenoid 1,3-aminoalcohol derivatives were prepared via stereoselective transformations. The acid-catalysed hydrolysis and rearrangement of natural stevioside produced isosteviol, which was transformed into the key intermediate methyl ester. In the next step, an 1,3-aminoalcohol library was prepared by the reductive amination of the intermediate 3-hydroxyaldehyde obtained from isosteviol in a two-step synthesis.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

We describe herein the synthesis of eight new ester-coupled hybrid compounds from thymoquinone and protoflavone building blocks, and their bioactivity testing against multiple cancer cell lines. Among the hybrids, compound 14 showed promising activities in all cell lines studied. The highest activities were recorded against breast cancer cell lines with higher selectivity to MDA-MB-231 as compared to MCF-7.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • A series of new triazole-tethered ferrocenoylamino-cinchona-chalcone hybrids were created using CuAAC chemistry, but required higher catalyst levels to overcome issues with unstable reactions.
  • Evidence from DFT modeling suggests that some Cu(I) ions could become trapped in the compounds, affecting reaction yields and stability.
  • Testing against various cancer cell lines showed that one particular compound was the most effective in inhibiting cell growth, demonstrating superior effects compared to a related benzoylamino-substituted compound.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The syntheses of novel 2,4-bis[(substituted-aminomethyl)phenyl]phenylquinazolines and 2,4-bis[(substituted-aminomethyl)phenyl]phenylquinolines are reported here in six steps starting from various halogeno-quinazoline-2,4-(1,3)-diones or substituted anilines. The antiproliferative activities of the products were determined in vitro against a panel of breast (MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231), human adherent cervical (HeLa and SiHa), and ovarian (A2780) cell lines. Disubstituted 6- and 7-phenyl-bis(3-dimethylaminopropyl)aminomethylphenyl-quinazolines , , and displayed the most interesting antiproliferative activities against six human cancer cell lines.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Nanotechnology is playing a significant role in modern life with tremendous potential and promising results in almost every domain, especially the pharmaceutical one. The impressive performance of nanomaterials is shaping the future of science and revolutionizing the traditional concepts of industry and research. Titanate nanotubes (TNTs) are one of these novel entities that became an appropriate choice to apply in several platforms due to their remarkable properties such as preparation simplicity, high stability, good biocompatibility, affordability and low toxicity.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

A series of novel diterpene-type 1,3-aminoalcohols and their regioisomers have been synthesised from natural stevioside in a stereoselective manner. The key intermediate β-keto alcohol was prepared using Wagner-Meerwein rearrangement of the epoxide derived from steviol methyl ester. The primary aminoalcohol was formed via Raney-nickel-catalysed hydrogenation of an oxime, and a versatile library of aminoalcohols was synthesised using a Schiff base with the primary amines.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

(-)-Cannabidiol (CBD) and (-)-cannabigerol (CBG) are two major non-psychotropic phytocannabinoids that have many beneficial biological properties. However, due to their low water solubility and prominent first-pass metabolism, their oral bioavailability is moderate, which is unfavorable for medicinal use. Therefore, there is a great need for appropriate chemical modifications to improve their physicochemical and biological properties.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Four diastereomers of 16-azidomethyl substituted 3--benzyl estradiol (-) and their two estrone analogs ( and ) were tested for their antiproliferative properties against human gynecological cancer cell lines. The estrones were selected for additional experiments based on their outstanding cell growth-inhibiting activities. Both compounds increased hypodiploid populations of breast cancer cells, and elicited cell cycle disturbance as evidenced by flow cytometry.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Efflux pump (EP)-mediated multidrug resistance (MDR) seems ubiquitous in bacterial infections and neoplastic diseases. The diversity and lack of specificity of these efflux mechanisms raise a great obstacle in developing drugs that modulate efflux pumps. Since developing novel chemotherapeutic drugs requires large investments, drug repurposing offers a new approach that can provide alternatives as adjuvants in treating resistant microbial infections and progressive cancerous diseases.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Eight previously undescribed chromones, named pauciflorins F-M and two 5-methyl-2,4-chromadione derivatives named as pauciflorins N and O, were isolated from the methanol extract of the leaves of (Willd.) H.Rob.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The present study aimed to characterize the antiproliferative and antimetastatic properties of two recently synthesized monoterpene-aminopyrimidine hybrids ( and ) on A2780 ovary cancer cells. Both agents exerted a more pronounced cell growth inhibitory action than the reference agent cisplatin, as determined by the MTT assay. Tumor selectivity was assessed using non-cancerous fibroblast cells.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

New 2-thioxopyrimidin-4-ones capable of participating in regioselective reactions with functionally diverse hydrazonoyl chlorides towards angular regioisomers, rather than linear ones, were designed and synthesized to form stereoisomeric - and -hexahydro [1,2,4]triazolo[4,3-]quinazolin-9-ones to be tested as antitumor candidates. The angular regiochemistry of the products was verified through crystallographic experiments and NMR studies. In addition, the regioselectivity of the reaction was found to be independent of the stereochemistry of the used 2-thioxopyrimidin-4-one.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF