Innovation of 6-sulfonamide-2-chromene derivatives as antidiabetic agents targeting α-amylase, α-glycosidase, and PPAR-γ inhibitors with molecular docking simulation.

A new series of 2-imino or 2-oxo-2-chromene-6-sulfonamide derivatives 2-9 with potential anti-diabetic activity were designed and synthesized. The new 6-sulfonamide chromenes were synthesized by reacting 3-formyl-4-hydroxybenzenesulfonyl chloride with activated methylene derivatives in the presence of ammonium acetate as a catalyst. The structure of the products was confirmed by spectroscopic analysis. All the designed derivatives 2-9 were evaluated for their activity against α-amylase and exhibited inhibitory percentage values higher than 93% at 100 μg mL. Additionally, the IC values represented a variable degree of activity with two derivatives 2 and 9 exhibiting the most promising derivative results with IC values of 1.76 ± 0.01 and 1.08 ± 0.02 μM, respectively, compared to Acarbose (IC = 0.43 ± 0.01 μM). Additionally, these derivatives showed potency against the α-glucosidase enzyme with IC values of 0.548 ± 0.02 and 2.44 ± 0.09 μg mL, compared to Acarbose (0.604 ± 0.02 μg mL). Moreover, the PPAR-γ transactivation assay revealed that chromene-6-sulfonamide derivatives 2 and 9 exhibited potential PPAR-γ activity with IC values of 3.152 ± 0.03 and 3.706 ± 0.32 μg mL, respectively, compared to Pioglitazone (4.884 ± 0.29 μg mL). This indicates that these derivatives have insulin sensitivity and glucose metabolism activity. The ADMET prediction showed that these derivatives have an acceptable range of oral bioavailability, drug-likeness, and a safe toxicity profile, including being non-cytotoxic, non-mutagenic, non-immunotoxic, and non-carcinogenic. Finally, computational docking analysis demonstrated the ability of these derivatives to interact with α-amylase, α-glucosidase, and PPAR-γ enzymes, with confirmed successful placement due to good binding energy values and various interactions within the pocket.