Farid A. Badria

Melatonin, serotonin, and tryptamine in some egyptian food and medicinal plants.

The mammalian pineal hormone melatonin (N-acetyl-5-methoxytryptamine), an aminoindole produced by the metabolism of serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine), has been shown to be a potent scavenger for the highly toxic hydroxyl radical. Three substances that are very important in animal physiology (e.g., in brain metabolism) are noradrenaline, histamine, and serotonin; all three occur in plants. Here we report that serotonin, tryptamine, and melatonin were found in some edible and medicinal plants in Egypt. The results of this screening showed that the pulp of underripe and ripe yellow banana contains 5-hydroxytryptamine at concentrations of 31.4 and 18.5 ng/g, respectively. Corn, rice, barley grains, and ginger showed the highest concentrations of melatonin, at 187.8, 149.8, 87.3, 142.3 ng/100 g, respectively. On the other hand, potato samples were free from all indolamines. Pomegranate and strawberry showed a low level of indolamines (8-12 microg/g serotonin, 4-9 microg/g tryptamine, and 13-29 ng/100 g melatonin).

Synthesis and antitumor evaluation of some new 1,3,4-oxadiazole-based heterocycles

The synthetic strategies and characterization of some novel 1,3,4-oxadiazole derivatives carrying different pharmacophores and heterocyclic rings that are relevant to potential antitumor and cytotoxic activities are described. The antitumor activities of the newly synthesized compounds were evaluated according to the protocol of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) in-vitro disease-oriented human cells screening panel assay. The results revealed that five compounds, namely 2, 7a, 11a, 12b, and 17; displayed promising in-vitro antitumor activity in the 4-cell lines assay. Incorporating a thiazole ring to 1,3,4-oxadiazole skeleton resulted in better antitumor activities than those displayed by the pyrazole and thiophene ring systems. Transformation of 1,3,4-oxadiazole 2 to N-(6-amino-7H-pyrazolo[5,1-c][1,2,4]triazol-3-yl)benzamide (15) diminished the antitumor activity.

Antioxidant and Immunomodulatory Constituents of Henna Leaves

Abstract The immunomodulatory bioassay-guided fractionation of the methanolic extract of henna (Lawsonia inermis L.; syn. Lawsonia alba L.) leaves resulted in the isolation of seven compounds; three have been isolated for the first time from the genus, namely p-coumaric acid, 2-methoxy-3-methyl-1,4-naphthoquinone and apiin, along with the previously isolated compounds: lawsone, apigenin, luteolin, and cosmosiin. Structural elucidation of the isolated compounds was based upon their physical, chemical as well as spectroscopic characters. Their immuomodulatory profile was studied using an in vitro immunoassay, the lymphocyte transformation assay. The ABTS [2,2′-azino-bis (3-ethyl benzthiazoline-6-sulfonic acid)], free radical scavenging assay depicted that all isolated compounds exhibited antioxidant activity comparable to that of ascorbic acid.

Synthesis, antitumor evaluation, molecular modeling and quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) of some novel arylazopyrazolodiazine and triazine analogs.

The synthesis, in vivo and in vitro antitumor evaluation, and QSAR studies of some novel pyrazole analogs against Ehrlich Ascites Carcinoma (EAC) cells were described. In vitro results revealed that compounds 10, 6 and 4 were the most potent analogs against EAC, respectively. Moreover, in vivo evaluation of compounds 6 and 10 proved their capability to normalize the blood picture in comparison to 5-FU, a well known anticancer drug. These novel pyrazole analogs were molecularly designed with the goal of having significant potent cytotoxic effect against EAC cells. To develop a QSAR model capable of identifying the key molecular descriptors associated with the biological activity of the novel pyrazole analogs and predicting the cytotoxic effect for other novel pyrazole analogs against EAC cells, different QSAR models, using different physicochemical and topological molecular descriptors, were developed. Different molecular descriptors were predicted solely from the chemical structures of 16 pyrazolo-diazine and triazine analogs following the prediction of the equilibrium molecular geometry of each analog at the DFT level using B88-LYP functional energy and double zeta valence polarized (DZVP) basis set. It was found that dipole moment, excitation energy, the energy value of LUMO, solvent accessible surface area, and heat of formation were the key molecular descriptors in descriping the cytotoxic effect of those compounds against EAC.

Synthesis, antimicrobial and antiviral evaluation of certain thienopyrimidine derivatives

Summary A series of 2-substituted amino-3-aminocyclopenteno or cyclohexeno[ b ]thieno[2,3- d ]-3,4-dihydropyrimidin-4-ones has been synthesized by reacting the corresponding thioureido derivatives with hydrazine hydrate. The thienoprimidine analogues obtained were further used to prepare their arylideneamino, thienotriazolopyrimidine or 2-methylthienotriazolopyrimidine derivatives. The prepared compounds were screened for antimicrobial, antiviral and cytotoxic activity. Some of the tested compounds showed promising activity. Detailed syntheses and spectroscopic and biological data are reported.

Stereoselective Synthesis and Antiviral Activity of (1E,2Z,3E)-1-(Piperidin-1-yl)-1-(arylhydrazono)-2-[(benzoyl/benzothiazol- 2-oyl)hydrazono]-4-(aryl1)but-3-enes

The reaction of benzoyl hydrazine 1a or benzothiazole‐2‐carbohydrazide 1b with 2‐oxo‐N‐arylpropanehydrazonoyl chlorides 2a–d yielded (1Z,2E)‐2‐[(benzoyl/benzothiazol‐2‐oyl)hydrazono]‐N‐(aryl)propanehydrazonoyl chlorides 3a–e. The reaction of 3a–c with sodium benzenesulphinate furnished sulphones 5a–c while the reaction of 5d, e with hydroxyl amine afforded hydroxomoyl derivatives 6a, b. The one‐pot sterioselective reaction of N‐(aryl)propanehydrazonoyl chlorides 3 with certain aromatic aldehydes in the presence of piperidine resulted in the formation of (1E,2Z,3E)‐1‐(piperidin‐1‐yl)‐1‐(arylhydrazono)‐2‐[(benzoyl/benzothiazol‐2‐oyl)hydrazono]‐4‐(aryl1)‐but‐3‐enes 7a–g. X‐ray analysis of piperidinyl amidrazone 7g showed a conversion of its geometrical structure with respect to that of compound 3 and confirmed the stereoselectivity of the latter reaction. The piperidinyl amidrazones 7a–g possessed a significant antiviral activity against herpes simplex viruses (HSV‐1). Compound 7d reduced the number of viral plaques of herpes simplex type‐1 (HSV‐1) by 67%, with respect to the effect of reference drug Aphidicolin.

Chemistry and immunomodulatory activity of frankincense oil.

The yield of steam distillation of frankincense essential oil (3%); and its physicochemical constants were determined. Capillary GC/MS technique was used for the analysis of the oil. Several oil components were identified based upon comparison of their mass spectral data with those of reference compounds published in literature or stored in a computer library. The oil was found to contain monoterpenes (13.1%), sesquiterpenes (1%), and diterpenes (42.5%). The major components of the oil were duva-3,9,13-trien-1,5α-diol-1-acetate (21.4%), octyl acetate (13.4%), o-methyl anisole (7.6%), naphthalene decahydro-1,1,4a-trimethyl- 6-methylene-5-(3-methyl-2-pentenyl) (5.7%), thunbergol (4.1%), phenanthrene-7- ethenyl-1,2,3,4,4a,5,6,7,8,9,10,10a-dodecahydro-1,1,4a,7-tetramethyl (4.1%), α-pinene (3.1%), sclarene (2.9%), 9-cis-retinal (2.8%), octyl formate (1.4%), verticiol (1.2%) decyl acetate (1.2%), n-octanol (1.1%). The chemical profile of the oil is considered as a chemotaxonomical marker that confirmed the botanical and geographical source of the resin. Biologically, the oil exhibited a strong immunostimulant activity (90% lymphocyte transformation) when assessed by a lymphocyte proliferation assay.

Alkaloids and Polyketides from Penicillium citrinum, an Endophyte Isolated from the Moroccan Plant Ceratonia siliqua

The endophytic fungus Penicillium citrinum was isolated from a fresh stem of the Moroccan plant Ceratonia siliqua. Extracts of P. citrinum grown on rice and white bean media yielded five new compounds, namely, citriquinochroman (1), tanzawaic acids G and H (2 and 3), 6-methylcurvulinic acid (4), 8-methoxy-3,5-dimethylisoquinolin-6-ol (5), and one new natural product, 1,2,3,11b-tetrahydroquinolactacide (6), which had previously been described as a synthetic compound. In addition, 13 known compounds including seven alkaloids and six polyketides were isolated. The structures of the new compounds were unambiguously determined on the basis of one- and two-dimensional NMR spectroscopy as well as by high-resolution mass spectrometry. Citriquinochroman (1) features a new skeleton, consisting of quinolactacide and (3S)-6-hydroxy-8-methoxy-3,5-dimethylisochroman linked by a C-C bond. 1,2,3,11b-Tetrahydroquinolactacide (6) may be a biogenetic precursor of quinolactacide. Citriquinochroman (1) showed cytotoxicity against the murine lymphoma L5178Y cell line with an IC50 value of 6.1 μM, while the other compounds were inactive (IC50 >10 μM) in this assay.

Sarcophytolide: a new neuroprotective compound from the soft coral Sarcophyton glaucum

Bioactivity-guided fractionation of an alcohol extract of the soft coral Sarcophyton glaucum collected from the intertidal areas and the fringing coral reefs near Hurghada, Red Sea, Egypt resulted in the isolation of a new lactone cembrane diterpene, sarcophytolide. The structure of this compound was deduced from its spectroscopic data and by comparison of the spectral data with those of known closely related cembrane-type compounds. In antimicrobial assays, the isolated compound exhibited a good activity towards Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Sarcophytolide was found to display a strong cytoprotective effect against glutamate-induced neurotoxicity in primary cortical cells from rat embryos. Preincubation of the neurons with 1 or 10 microg/ml of sarcophytolide resulted in a significant increase of the percentage of viable cells from 33 +/- 4% (treatment of the cells with glutamate only) to 44 +/- 4 and 92 +/- 6%, respectively. Administration of sarcophytolide during the post-incubation period following glutamate treatment did not prevent neuronal cell death. Pretreatment of the cells with sarcophytolide for 30 min significantly suppressed the glutamate-caused increase in the intracellular Ca2+ level ([Ca2+]i). Evidence is presented that the neuroprotective effect of sarcophytolide against glutamate may be partially due to an increased expression of the proto-oncogene bcl-2. The coral secondary metabolite, sarcophytolide, might be of interest as a potential drug for treatment of neurodegenerative disorders.

Immunomodulatory Triterpenoids from the Oleogum Resin of Boswellia carterii Birdwood

Abstract The immunomodulatory bioassay-guided fractionation of the oleogum resin of frankincense (Boswellia carterii Bird wood) resulted in the isolation and identification of 9 compounds; palmitic acid and eight triterpenoids belonging to lupane, ursane, oleanane, and tirucallane skeleta were isolated form the resin. These triterpenoids are lupeol, β-boswellic acid, 11-keto-β-boswellic acid, acetyl β-boswellic acid, acetyl 11-keto-β-boswellic acid, acetyl- α-boswellic acid, 3-oxo-tirucallic acid, and 3-hydroxy-tirucallic acid. The structures of the isolated compounds were deduced based on spectroscopic evidences. The lymphocyte transformation assay of the isolated compounds proved that the total extract retained more activity than that of any of the purified compounds.