Letters in Drug Design & Discovery - Volume 20, Issue 10, 2023

Enzymes are highly specific catalysts that accelerate reactions in biological systems. Carbonic anhydrase (CA) is an enzyme found in plants, microorganisms, and vertebrates. CA catalyses CO2 hydration/ dehydration. There are different families and isoenzymes of CAs. Fifteen α-CA isoenzymes have been reported in humans. The status of CO2 hydration and dehydration is important for a variety of biological process Read More

Metastases result from a complicated process in which malignant cells detach from the initial cancerous cells and disseminate to other locations. Few therapy options are available that aim to prevent or counteract metastatic disorders. Identifying novel molecular targets and medications, developing techniques to distribute preexisting chemicals, and combining resources to supervise individualized treatment are all part of Read More

Epilepsy is a chronic neurological disorder characterized by periodic and unpredictable seizures affecting the neurobiological, psychological, cognitive, economic, and social well-being of patients. It is one of the causes of concern in developed as well as developing countries as currently marketed drugs are not capable of providing protection against it. Although several heterocyclic moieties have been frequently used as Read More

Vitamin K2 products were first applied to Japanese children, which can promote the growth of children's bones and eliminate their growing pain. At the same time, it does little harm to the human body, so it has attracted the attention of some scholars. Later, it was also proved to be effective in treating osteoporosis, especially for postmenopausal women. After years of research, some capabilities of VK2 have been discovered; it Read More

The computational method is widely used in the field of drug design as well as discovery. It aids the drug discovery and design process by making the procedure faster while also ensuring fewer human errors. Cancer is a condition with the development of abnormal cells expressing features like uncontrolled growth and cell division. This leads to abnormal tissue enlargement and interrupts the normal functioning of the tissue. Co Read More

Background: Plants have played an essential role in the search for new compounds for the most diverse therapeutic purposes. Recently, more attention has been paid to natural antioxidants because of the possible insecurity of synthetic antioxidants Objective: The review is aimed at summarizing the most important and common natural antioxidants and their resources from medicinal plants. Methods: The research w Read More

Background: A series of aryl-piperazine derivatives of 1,7,8,9-tetrachloro-10,10-dimethoxy-4- azatricyclo [5.2.1.02,6] dec-8-ene-3,5-dione were designed, synthesized, and their biological activities were evaluated. Methods: The chemical structures of the desired compounds were identified by 1H NMR, ESI-MS and elementary analysis. The anti-cancer and anti-angiogenesis activities of the newly synthesized compounds were ev Read More

Aims: The rich ethnomedicinal practices of Dakshina Kannada have received considerable attention, and many treatment methods have been documented. This work aimed to explore the traditional medicinal plants originating from Dakshina Kannada for their anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity by employing in silico methodologies. Methods: Virtual screening of Dakshina Kannada's plants was conducted, which are known for their a Read More

Background: Tuberculosis is considered a global health problem; hence, the screening and synthesis of novel tuberculostatic drugs are a necessity. Molecular docking could drastically reduce the time of hit identification; however, initial validation is required to reduce the false-positive results. Objective: Assessment of several searching and scoring algorithms for a custom dataset of hydrazidehydrazone- based tuberculostatics Read More

Background: Indole and its derivatives play an important role in the synthesis of commercially relevant intermediate molecules required for the synthesis of a wide range of bioactive molecules. Aim: Exploration of the synthesis of novel nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, as well as their computational studies and pharmacological effects, was aimed as an important component of the present research. Objective: The obje Read More

Background: Peritoneal adhesions (PA) are a common complication of abdominal operations. Previous studies indicate that inhibition of inflammation and fibrosis at sites of peritoneal damage may prevent the development of intra-abdominal adhesions. Zingiber officinalis Roscoe (ginger) and Panax ginseng (P. ginseng) are herbal products with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects that can have restorative pro Read More

Aims: This study documented hepatic tissue's protective activity against oxidative damage mediated experimental models of breast cancer. Background: Gaviola has a long history of improving the protection mechanism against many diseases as an antioxidant and anticancer dietary agent. Objective: The purpose of this study is to establish changes in hepatic profiling, antioxidants, inflammatory cytokine expression, a Read More

Purpose: To investigate the underlying mechanism of cardiomyocyte protection of carvedilol based on autophagy and apoptosis. Methods: Neonatal rat ventricular myocytes (NRVMs) were exposed to various concentrations of carvedilol before anoxia, and pretreated with 3-MA or compound C for inhibiting autophagy or p-AMPK expression. CCK-8 colorimeter and flow cytometry were used to determine the cell viability and apoptoti Read More

Background: Cancer is a complex disease in which some of the cells grow uncontrollably and spread to other parts of the body. Objective: The present study focuses on molecular docking and synthesis of novel flavone derivatives substituted with heterocyclic rings. Methods: The anticancer activity of novel flavones against human aromatase enzyme using human breast cancer cell line MCF-7 through MTT assay was demons Read More

Background: The heterocyclic nucleus pyrimidine is present in several natural and synthetic chemical analogues and has proved its broad medicinal applications. Further, pyrimidine in the form of parent structure or basic skeleton of RNA and DNA is involved in controlling the immune functioning, and in turn, inflammatory reactions. Objective: The objective of the present study is to evaluate some novel pyrimidine analogues for an Read More

Aim: Several new dihydropyridine-based calcium channel blockers have been synthesized and pharmacologically evaluated for the treatment of hypertension Background: Dihydropyridines constitute an important class of calcium channel blockers (CCBs) due to their high potency, wide heterogeneity and tremendous biological usefulness. As a follow-up to our previous studies on 4-aryl-1,4-dihydropyridines as calcium ch Read More

Background: In the current Alzheimer’s disease therapy as the preferred treatment are applied acetylcholinesterase inhibitors. Aiming to identify the active pharmacophores necessary for increased acetylcholinesterase inhibitory activity, some docking studies have been applied. Methods: In silico docking evaluation of the binding modes, identification of acetylcholinesterase inhibitory activity in vitro through Ellman’s test and I Read More

Background: Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a positive- sense, single stranded RNA virus, responsible for the pandemic outbreak called COVID-19. The pandemic, still ongoing, had presented unprecedented challenges in terms of finding appropriate pharmacological treatments. Methods: Starting from the recent literature that demonstrates how ALKBH5 inhibitors could be used as a Read More

Background: Pyrimidine and 1,2,4-triazole heterocycles have been linked to a variety of biological and pharmacological properties such as effective bactericides, fungicides, vermicides, insecticides, anticancer and antiviral agents. Accordingly, the synthetic derivatives and analogs of these molecules have attracted attention as potential pharmacological agents. Objective: A novel set of heterocyclic derivatives comprising 1, Read More