Lateef_2017_Heliyon_3_e00350

To treat Alzheimer's disease (AD), the available candidates are effective only against mild AD or have side effects. So, a study was planned to synthesis new candidates that may have good potential to treat AD. A series of new anthrarobin acyl derivatives (2-8) were synthesized by the reaction of anthrarobin (1) and acetic anhydride/acyl chlorides. The product were characterized by 1H NMR and EI-MS, and evaluated for butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE) inhibition activity. Compounds 5 and 4 showed notable BuChE inhibitory potential with IC50 5.3 +/- 1.23 and 17.2 +/- 0.47 muM, respectively when compared with the standard eserine (IC50 7.8 +/- 0.27 muM), compound 5 showed potent BuChE inhibition potential than the standard eserine. The active compounds 5 and 4 have acyl groups at 2-OH and 10-OH positions which may be responsible for inhibitory potential as this orientation is absent in other products. In silico studies of 5 and 4 products revealed the high inhibitory potential due to stable binding of ligand with the BuChE active sites with docking energy score -18.8779 kcal/mol and -23.1159 kcal/mol, respectively. Subsequently, compound 5 that have potent BuChE inhibitory activity could be the potential candidate for drug development for Alzheimer's disease.