Essential Oils from the Genus Piper Promote Antinociception by Modulating TRP Channels and Anti-Inflammatory Effects in Adult Zebrafish.

The Piper genus, known for its pharmacological potential, comprises 2,263 species primarily found in tropical regions. Despite recent advancements in pain therapies, the demand for more effective and well-tolerated analgesics and anti-inflammatories, particularly for chronic pain, remains. This study assessed the effects of essential oils from Piper caldense, Piper mosenii, and Piper mikanianum on nociceptive behavior induced by formalin and capsaicin, as well as their anti-inflammatory impact induced by carrageenan, using adult zebrafish models. Results indicated non-toxic essential oils with antinociceptive properties in both neurogenic and inflammatory phases of formalin-induced nociception through interaction with the TRPA1 receptor. Additionally, P. mosenii essential oil also blocked the nociceptive effect of capsaicin, a TRPV1 receptor agonist. Furthermore, essential oils from P. caldense and P. mikanianum exhibited significant anti-inflammatory effects by reducing carrageenan-induced abdominal edema. These findings highlight the pharmacological potential of Piper's essential oils as antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory agents.

Synthesis, molecular docking, ADMET, and evaluation of the anxiolytic effect in adult zebrafish of synthetic chalcone (E)-3-(4-(dimethylamino)phenyl)-1-(2-hydroxyphenyl)prop-2-en-1-one: An in vivo and in silico approach.

BACKGROUND: Anxiety disorders represent the complex interaction between biological, psychological, temperamental, and environmental factors; drugs available to treat anxiety such as benzodiazepines (BZDs) are associated with several unwanted side effects. Although there are useful treatments, there is still a need for more effective anxiolytics with better safety profiles than BZDs. Chalcones or 1,3-diphenyl-2-proper-1-ones can be an alternative since this class of compounds has shown therapeutic potential mainly due to interactions with GABAA receptors and serotonergic system. OBJECTIVES: This study evaluated the anxiolytic potential of chalcone (E)-3-(4-(dimethylamino)phenyl)-1-(2-hydroxyphenyl)prop-2-en-1-one (C2OHPDA) in adult zebrafish (Danio rerio) (ZFa). METHODS: Each animal (n = 6/group) was treated intraperitoneally (i.p.; 20 µL) with the chalcone (4, 20, and 40 mg/kg) and with the vehicle (DMSO 3%; 20 µL), being submitted to the tests of locomotor activity and 96-h acute toxicity. The light/dark test was also performed, and the serotonergic mechanism (5-HT) was evaluated through the antagonists of the 5-HTR1 , 5-HTR2A/2C , and 5-HTR3A/3B receptors. It was investigated the prediction of the chalcone's position and preferential orientation concerning its receptor, as well as the pharmacokinetic parameters (ADMET) involved in the process after administration. RESULTS: As a result, C2OHPDA was not toxic and reduced the locomotor activity of ZFa. Furthermore, chalcone demonstrated an anxiolytic effect on the central nervous system (CNS), mediated by the serotonergic system, with action on 5-HT2A and 5-HTR3A/3B receptors. The interaction of C2OHPDA with 5-HT2A R and 5-HT3A receptors was confirmed by molecular docking study, the affinity energy observed was -8.7 and -9.1 kcal/mol, respectively. CONCLUSION: Thus, this study adds new evidence and highlights that chalcone can potentially be used to develop compounds with anxiolytic properties.

Trypanocidal potential of synthetic p-aminochalcones: In silico and in vitro evaluation.

Chagas disease (CD) is a neglected tropical disease of worldwide health concern, caused by the flagellate protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi (T. cruzi), endemic in Latin America and present in North America and Europe. The WHO recommended drug for CD, benznidazole has low safety profile and several limitations. Therefore, an entity with better therapeutic potential to treat CD is required. Chalcones are an important class of compounds, which have shown antichagasic potential. Thus, the objective of this study was to evaluate the activity of synthetic p-aminochalcones against T. cruzi. Chalcones 1 and 2 were synthesized by Claisen-Schmidt condensation and characterized by both spectroscopic and theoretical methods. Initially, they were submitted to molecular docking simulations using cruzain and trypanothione reductase (TR) enzymes. It was expected to observe the possible interactions of chalcones with the catalytic site and other important regions of these main pharmacological targets of T. cruzi. Their cytotoxicity within host cells were assessed by MTT reduction assay using LLC-MK2 cells, with CC50 = 85.6 ± 9.2 µM and 1115 ± 381.7 µM for chalcones 1 and 2, respectively. These molecules were also tested against epimastigote and trypomastigote life forms of T. cruzi, causing reduction in the number of viable parasites. For the evaluation of the effect on intracellular amastigotes, infected LLC-MK2 cells were incubated with the chalcones for 24 h, causing reduction in the percentage of infected cells and the number of amastigotes/100 cells. Finally, flow cytometry assays were performed for analyzing cell death mechanisms (7-AAD/AxPE labelling), cytoplasmic ROS accumulation (DCFH-DA assay) and mitochondrial transmembrane potential disruption (Rho123 assay). Both chalcones (1 and 2) caused membrane damage, ROS accumulation and mitochondrial depolarization. In conclusion, the synthetic p-aminochalcones presented trypanocidal effect, causing membrane damage and oxidative stress. Their mechanism of action may be related to cruzain and TR inhibition.

Synthesis and in silico study of chenodeoxycholic acid and its analogues as an alternative inhibitor of spike glycoprotein of SARS-CoV-2.

COVID-19, caused by SARS-CoV-2, is a viral infection that has generated one of the most significant health problems in the world. Spike glycoprotein is a crucial enzyme in viral replication and transcription mediation. There are reports in the literature on using bile acid in the fight against this virus through in vitro tests. This work presents the synthesis of nine chenodeoxycholic acid derivatives (1-9), which were prepared by oxidation, acetylation, formylation, and esterification reactions, and the analogs 6-9 have not yet been reported in the literature and the possibility of conducting an in silico study of bile acid derivatives as a therapeutic alternative to combat the virus using glycoprotein as a macromolecular target. As a result, five compounds (1, 6-9) possessed favorable competitive interactions with the lowest energies compared to the native ligand (BLA), and the highlighted compound 9 got the best scores. At the same time, analog 1 presented the best ADME filter result. Molecular dynamics also simulated these compounds to verify their stability within the active protein site to seek new therapeutic propositions to fight against the pandemic. Physical and spectroscopic data have fully characterized all the compounds.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.

Antibacterial and antibiotic modifying activity of chalcone (2E)-1-(4'-aminophenyl)-3-(4-methoxyphenyl)-prop-2-en-1-one in strains of Staphylococcus aureus carrying NorA and MepA efflux pumps: In vitro and in silico approaches.

A large number of infections are caused by multi-resistant bacteria worldwide, increasing to around 700,000 deaths per year. Because of that, many strategies are being developed to combat the resistance of microorganisms to drugs, and recently, chalcones have been studied for this purpose. Chalcones are known as α, ß-unsaturated ketones, characterized by having the presence of two aromatic rings that are joined by a three-carbon chain. They are a class of compounds considered an exceptional model due to chemical simplicity and a wide variety of biological activities, including anticancer, anti-inflammatory, antioxidants, antimicrobials, anti-tuberculosis, anti-HIV, antimalarial, anti-allergic, antifungal, antibacterial, and antileishmaniasis. The objective of this work was to evaluate the antibacterial and antibiotic modifying activity of chalcone (2E)-1-(4'-aminophenyl)-3-(4-methoxyphenyl)-prop-2-en-1-one against the bacteria Staphylococcus aureus carrying a NorA and MepA efflux pump. The results showed that chalcone showed no toxicity on macrophage cells and was able to synergistically modulate the action of Norfloxacin and Ethidium Bromide against the bacteria Staphylococcus aureus 1199B and K2068, respectively. Furthermore, the theoretical physicochemical and pharmacokinetic properties of chalcone showed that it did not present a severe risk of toxicity such as genetic mutation or cardiotoxicity, constituting an excellent pharmacological active ingredient.

Potentiation of antibiotic activity, and efflux pumps inhibition by (2E)-1-(4-aminophenyl)-3-(4-fluorophenyl)prop-2-en-1-one.

In recent years, bacterial resistance to traditional drugs has increased, and the need to find new effective antibiotics to treat infections caused by multidrug-resistant bacteria has consequently become more important. The current study aimed to evaluate the potentiation of antibiotic activity and efflux pumps inhibition by (2E)-1-(4-aminophenyl)-3-(4-fluorophenyl)prop-2-en-1-one (PA-Fluorine) against the standard and resistant bacterial strains of Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. The association between PA-Fluorine and ampicillin reduced the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), showing a synergistic effect against S. aureus. For E. coli, PA-Fluorine did not show any significant results when associated with ampicillin. Ciprofloxacin and chlorpromazine showed synergy with PA-Fluorine on the two studied strains. An efflux pump mechanism was involved in the mechanism of action of chlorpromazine, norfloxacin, and ethidium bromide. PA-Fluorine synergistically modulated norfloxacin and bromide. It was thus concluded that PA-Fluorine has the potential to enhance antibacterial activity when combined with antibiotics. Molecular docking studies showed the effect of intermolecular interactions of PA-Fluorine on the NorA and MepA efflux pumps. Physicochemical and pharmacokinetic properties were also obtained by ADMET studies for this chalcone, which presents be a strong candidate as an efflux pump inhibitor.