Design, synthesis of new phenyl acetylene and isoxazole analogues of arjunolic acid as potent tyrosinase and alpha glucosidase inhibitors

Abstract

A series of new phenyl acetylene and isoxazole analogues of arjunolic acid were designed, synthesized and evaluated (3–8) for their tyrosinase and alpha glucosidase inhibitory potential. All the tested analogues exhibited stronger inhibitory activity than the standard drug or parent compound. Of these, compound (7) displayed the most potent tyrosinase inhibitory action with IC50 (14.3 ± 7.6) of about three folds more than the standard drug, kojic acid (41.5 ± 1.0). Further, compound (8) (14.5 ± 0.15) possessed the potent alpha glucosidase inhibitory action with IC50 value comparable to that of standard, acarbose (10.4 ± 0.06). Henceforth, compounds (7) and (8) are promising candidates for further studies.