Exploring antimalarial and antioxidant properties of hydrazone ligands and their transition metal complexes: Insights through molecular docking and ADMET studies

Abstract

Malaria is a leading cause of death in many parts of the world and has a profound impact on public health and poses significant challenges to healthcare systems in endemic regions. Malaria is a severe and sometimes fatal disease caused by Plasmodium parasites and its one significant aspect of malaria pathophysiology is its relationship with oxidative stress, a condition characterized by an imbalance between the production of free radicals and the body’s ability to detoxify these reactive products or repair the resulting damage. So, in the present research, to identify effective agents for malaria and oxidative stress, microassay and DPPH protocols were applied to previously synthesized and well characterized octahedral hydrazone ligands (1–2) and their Co(II), Ni(II), Cu(II), Zn(II) metal complexes (3–10), which were derived from 2-methoxy-1-naphthaldehyde, 3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)benzohydrazide, 3-bromo-5-ethoxy-4-hydroxybenzaldehyde. The biological assessment indicated that complexes (8, 9, 10) were particularly effective in inhibiting malaria and oxidative infections as compared to other compounds. Among these, zinc(II) complex (10) exhibited the highest efficacy for malaria and oxidative stress, with an IC50 values of 0.59 ± 0.13 and 2.12 ± 0.17 µM which are comparable with quinine and ascorbic acid, correspondingly. Additionally, molecular docking studies against the 8E1Z and 1U5A proteins along with ADMET investigations were also support the superior efficacy of complex (10), demonstrating the lowest binding affinity, favorable binding modes and drug likeness ability.