Identification of some chalcone analogues as potential antileishmanial agents: An integrated in vitro and in silico evaluation

Abstract

Chalcones, either natural or synthetic, are known to exhibit various biological activities. The present study aimed to evaluate the in vitro and in silico activities of some chalcone analogues as potential antleishmanial agents via inhibition of the trypanothione reductase enzyme (TR). Five chalcone analogues were synthesized using Claisen-Schmidt reaction and their activity has been evaluated against Leishmania donovani and presented as IC 50 values. Various integrated web-based technologies were used to assess the synthesized compounds' absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion, and toxicity profile (ADMET). The binding affinity of the most potent chalcone for the selected target was then investigated using Auto-Dock 4.0. Additionally, the molecular dynamics was performed using WEBGRO. ( E )-1-(4-bromophenyl)-3-(4-hydroxyphenyl) prop-2-en-1-one (Chalcone 4) has shown the highest inhibitory effect with IC 50 value 0.03 ± 0.16 µM. In addition, the pharmacokinetic and toxicological investigations revealed its good oral bioavailability and low toxicity. Furthermore, chalcone 4 was found to interact with high affinity (−8.6 kcal/mole) with trypanothione reductase (TR), an essential enzyme for the leishmanial parasite. Molecular dynamics simulation revealed several interesting features responsible for the potency and stability of chalcone 4 as TR inhibitor. Thus, the promising activity against Leishmania donovani , compared to amphotericin B and other reported chalcones derivatives, proposes the use of chalcone 4 as a potential new therapy for visceral leishmaniasis.