A series of 7-substituted coumarin derivatives were designed and synthesised to display ChE and MAO-B inhibitory activity. The compounds consisted out of a coumarin structure (MAO-B inhibitor) and benzyl-, piperidine-, N-benzylpiperidine- or p-bromo-N-benzylpiperizine moiety, resembling the N-benzylpiperidine function of donepezil (ChE inhibitor), connected via an alkyl ether linkage at the 7 position. The biological assay results indicated that all the compounds (1-25) displayed selective inhibition to hMAO-B over hMAO-A, with the benzyloxy series (1-8, 10-13) showing nano-molar hMAO-B inhibition (IC50: 0.5-73 nM). Limited ChE inhibitory activity was however observed for the benzyloxy series with the exception of 2 and especially 3 showing selective BuChE inhibition. From this series 3 showed the best multifunctional activity (eqBuChE IC50 = 0.96 μM, hMAO-A IC50 = 2.13 μM, hMAO-B IC50 = 0.0021 μM). Within the N-benzylpiperidine (16-19) and p-bromo-N-benzylpiperizine (21-24) series the compounds in general showed moderate ChE and MAO-B inhibitory activity. Of these compounds 19 was the most potent multifunctional agent showing good eeAChE and eqBuChE inhibition (IC50 = 9.10 μM and 5.90 μM, respectively), and relatively potent and selective hMAO-B inhibition (IC50 = 0.30 μM, SI = >33). Molecular modeling revealed that 19 was able to bind simultaneously to the CAS, mid-gorge and PAS sites of AChE and BuChE suggesting that it will be able to inhibit AChE induced Aβ aggregation. From this study, compounds that 3 and 19 can be considered as promising multifunctional lead compounds.
Keywords: Alzheimer's disease; Cholinesterase; Coumarin; Donepezil; MAO-B; Molecular modeling.
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