Graphical abstract

This review provides critical insights into the biological activities and Structure–Activity Relationship (SAR) studies of tetrahydroisoquinoline (THIQ) analogs.

COVID-19 caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) primarily appeared in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. At present, no proper therapy and vaccinations are available for the disease, and it is increasing day by day with a high mortality rate. Pharmacophore based virtual screening of the selected natural product databases followed by Glide molecular docking and dynamics studies against SARS-CoV-2 main protease was investigated to identify potential ligands that may act as inhibitors. The molecules SN00293542 and SN00382835 revealed the highest docking score of 214.57 and 212.42 kcal/mol, respectively, when compared with the co-crystal ligands of PDB-6Y2F (O6K) and 6W63 (X77) of the SARS-CoV-2 M pro. To further validate the interactions of top scored molecules SN00293542 and SN00382835, molecular dynamics study of 100 ns was carried out. This indicated that the protein-ligand complex was stable throughout the simulation period, and minimal backbone fluctuations have ensued in the system. Post-MM-GBSA analysis of molecular dynamics data showed free binding energy-71.7004 1/2 7.98, 256.811/2 7.54 kcal/mol, respectively. The computational study identified several ligands that may act as potential inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 M pro. The top-ranked molecules SN00293542, and SN00382835 occupied the active site of the target, the main protease like that of the co-crystal ligand. These molecules may emerge as a promising ligands against SARS-CoV-2 and thus needs further detailed investigations.

A new class of compounds formed by the linkage of −C(O)–NH– with pyridine and thiazole moieties was designed, synthesized, and characterized by various spectral approaches. The newly characterized compounds were evaluated for their antimicrobial as well as anti-inflammatory properties. The in vitro anti-inflammatory activity of these compounds was evaluated by denaturation of the bovine serum albumin method and showed inhibition in the range of IC 50 values—46.29–100.60 μg/mL. Among all the tested compounds, compound 5l has the highest IC 50 value and compound 5g has the least IC 50 value. On the other hand, antimicrobial results revealed that compound 5j showed the lowest MIC values and compound 5a has the highest MIC values. Furthermore, molecular docking of the active compounds demonstrated a better docking score and interacted well with the target protein. Physicochemical parameters of the titled compounds were found suitable in the reference range only. The in silico molecular docking study revealed their COX-inhibitory action. Compound 5j emerged as a significant bioactive molecule among the synthesized analogues.

Lower doses of capsaicin (8-methyl-N-vanillyl-6-nonenamide) have the potential to serve as an anticancer drug, however, due to its pungency, irritant effect, poor water solubility and high distribution volume often linked to various off-target effects, its therapeutic use is limited. This study aimed to determine the biodistribution and anticancer efficacy of capsaicin loaded solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs) in human hepatocellular carcinoma in vitro. In this study, SLNs of stearic acid loaded with capsaicin was formulated by the solvent evaporation-emulsification technique and were instantly characterized for their encapsulation efficiency, morphology, loading capacity, stability, particle size, charge and in vitro drug release profile. Synthesized SLNs were predominantly spherical, 80 nm diameter particles that proved to be biocompatible with good stability in aqueous conditions. In vivo biodistribution studies of the formulated SLNs showed that 48 h after injection in the lateral tail vein, up to 15% of the cells in the liver, 1.04% of the cells in the spleen, 3.05% of the cells in the kidneys, 3.76% of the cells in the heart, 1.31% of the cells in the lungs and 0% of the cells in the brain of rats were determined. Molecular docking studies against the identified targets in HepG2 cells showed that the capsaicin is able to bind Abelson tyrosine-protein kinase, c-Src kinase, p38 MAP kinase and VEGF-receptor. Molecular dynamic simulation showed that capsaicin-VEGF receptor complex is highly stable at 50 nano seconds. The IC50 of capsaicin loaded SLNs in HepG2 cells in vitro was 21.36 μg × ml−1. These findings suggest that capsaicin loaded SLNs are stable in circulation for a period up to 3 d, providing a controlled release of loaded capsaicin and enhanced anticancer activity.