Seven chalcone derivatives were synthesized by the Claisen-Schmidt condensation. The structures of the compounds were confirmed by spectral data (Ultraviolet/visible, infrared, nuclear magnetic resonance and mass spectroscopy). The compounds were tested for their in silico and in vitro antimicrobial and antioxidant activities. The molecular docking assessments showed that all the compounds exhibited good binding affinity with the target microorganism proteins but, compounds 6e and 6g showed better binding affinity compared with the standards. The antimicrobial test revealed that all the compounds screened were active against Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus subtilis and had minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) between 0.4 and 0.6 mg/mL. Compounds 6a, 6c and 6d had moderate activities on Salmonella typhi. Compounds 6b and 6c had moderate activity on Escherichia coli. Compound 6c had moderate activity on Aspergillus niger while compounds 6a and 6e had poor activity. All the compounds except compound 6e had no inhibition against Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The in-vitro antioxidant activity was assessed using ethylenediaminetetraacetate (EDTA) as the standard. Compounds 6c, 6e and 6g gave excellent inhibitory activity better than the standard. Compound 6a gave good activity at 500 μg/mL and 1000 μg/mL concentrations but, below the standard at 250 μg/mL and no inhibition at 125 μg/mL. Compound 6d had good inhibition at 500 μg/mL and 1000 μg/mL but, no inhibition at 125 μg/mL and 250 μg/mL. Compound 6b was found to be inactive in all the concentrations. Absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion properties of the compounds were assessed using SwissADME. The results of lead likeness showed that compound 6e is a lead-like molecule.

No abstract

The unusual structure and chemical composition of the mycobacterial cell wall, the tedious duration of therapy, and resistance developed by the microorganism have made the recurrence of the disease multidrug resistance and extensive or extreme drug resistance. The prevalence of tuberculosis in synergy with HIV/AIDS epidemic augments the risk of developing the disease by 100-fold. The need to synthesize new drugs that will shorten the total duration of effective treatment and/or significantly reduce the dosage taken under DOTS supervision, improve on the treatment of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis which defies the treatment with isoniazid and rifampicin, and provide effective treatment for latent TB infections which is essential for eliminating tuberculosis prompted this review. In this review, we considered the synthesis and structure activity relationship study of carboxamide derivatives with antitubercular potential.

Review: 192 refs.

More still needs to be learned regards the relative contamination of heavy metals and pesticide residues, particularly those found in widely consumed Nigerian food crops like cereals, vegetables, and tubers. In this current study, the heavy metals and pesticide residues detectable in widely consumed Nigerian food crops were respectively quantified using atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS) and gas chromatography (GC). Specifically, the widely consumed Nigerian food crops included cereals (rice, millet, and maize), legume (soybean), tubers (yam and cassava), as well as leaf (fluted pumpkin, Amaranthus leaf, waterleaf, and scent leaf) and fruit vegetables (okro, cucumber, carrot, and watermelon). Results showed that the detected heavy metals included arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), cobalt (Co), iron (Fe), lead (Pb), manganese (Mn), mercury (Hg), and nickel (Ni), whereas the pesticide residues included Aldrin, Carbofuran, g-chlordane, Chlorpyrifos, DichloroBiphenyl, Dichlorodiphenyldichloroethane (DDD), Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT), Dichlorvos, Endosulfan, Heptachlor, Hexachlorobenzene (HCB), Isopropylamine, Lindane, t-nonachlor, and Profenofos. Across the studied food crops, the concentrations of heavy metals and pesticides were varied, with different trends as they largely fell below the established maximum permissible limits, and with some exceptions. Our findings suggest there could be a somewhat gradual decline in the concentration of the heavy metals and pesticide residues of these studied food crops when compared to previously published reports specific to Nigeria. To help substantiate this observation and supplement existing information, further investigations are required into the concentration of these heavy metals and pesticide residues specific to these studied food crops at other parts of the country.