Medicinal Chemistry

Conventional Versus Microwave Assisted Synthesis, Molecular Docking Studies and In Vitro Evaluation of Benzohydrazide Derivatives as New Acetylcholinesterase and Butyrylcholinesterase Inhibitors

Abstract

Asad Ali, Anis Ur Rahman, Muhammad Ateeq, Farhat Ullah, Uzma Rasheed Mughal and Abdul Wadood

In the course of studies directed towards the synthesis of novel AChE and BChE inhibitors, for the treatment of Alzheimer disease, we focused on the conventional versus microwave assisted synthesis of seventeen benzohydrazide derivatives and tested their ability as AChE and BChE inhibitors. These derivatives were characterized by FT-IR, 1H-NMR, 13C-NMR and EI-MS. Seventeen derivatives exhibited varied acetylcholinesterase inhibition with IC50 values ranging between 72.04 ± 1.12 to 1320.65 ± 0.95 μM as well as butyrylcholinesterase activity with IC50 values ranging between 3.04 ± 1.48-1876.17 ± 0.95 μM as compared with standard eserine (IC50=0.85 ± 0.0001 μM). Only two analogs 3k and 3o exhibited moderate acetylcholinesterase inhibitor potential with IC50 values 72.04 ± 1.12 and 94.06 ± 1.17 μM respectively. Five analogs 3d, 3h, 3q, 3o and 3l exhibited good potent butyrylcholinesterase inhibitory potential with IC50 values 3.04 ± 1.48, 9.01 ± 0.58, 15.12 ± 0.66, 45.00 ± 0.99 and 50.19 ± 0.62 μM respectively. Molecular docking studies were carried out in order to find out the binding affinity of benzohydrazide derivatives with the enzyme.