Synthesis of Thymoquinone–Artemisinin Hybrids: New Potent Antileukemia, Antiviral, and Antimalarial Agents

ACS Medicinal Chemistry Letters
2018.0

Abstract

A series of hybrid compounds based on the natural products artemisinin and thymoquinone was synthesized and investigated for their biological activity against the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum 3D7 strain, human cytomegalovirus (HCMV), and two leukemia cell lines (drug-sensitive CCRF-CEM and multidrug-resistant subline CEM/ADR5000). An unprecedented one-pot method of selective formation of C-10α-acetate 14 starting from a 1:1 mixture of C-10α- to C-10β-dihydroartemisinin was developed. The key step of this facile method is a mild decarboxylative activation of malonic acid mediated by DCC/DMAP. Ether-linked thymoquinone-artemisinin hybrids 6a/b stood out as the most active compounds in all categories, while showing no toxic side effects toward healthy human foreskin fibroblasts and thus being selective. They exhibited EC50 values of 0.2 μM against the doxorubicin-sensitive as well as the multidrug-resistant leukemia cells and therefore can be regarded as superior to doxorubicin. Moreover, they showed to be five times more active than the standard drug ganciclovir and nearly eight times more active than artesunic acid against HCMV. In addition, hybrids 6a/b possessed excellent antimalarial activity (EC50 = 5.9/3.7 nM), which was better than that of artesunic acid (EC50 = 8.2 nM) and chloroquine (EC50 = 9.8 nM). Overall, most of the presented thymoquinone-artemisinin-based hybrids exhibit an excellent and broad variety of biological activities (anticancer, antimalarial, and antiviral) combined with a low toxicity/high selectivity profile.

Knowledge Graph

Similar Paper

Synthesis of Thymoquinone–Artemisinin Hybrids: New Potent Antileukemia, Antiviral, and Antimalarial Agents
ACS Medicinal Chemistry Letters 2018.0
Access to new highly potent antileukemia, antiviral and antimalarial agents via hybridization of natural products (homo)egonol, thymoquinone and artemisinin
Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry 2018.0
Synthesis of Artemisinin–Estrogen Hybrids Highly Active against HCMV, P. falciparum, and Cervical and Breast Cancer
ACS Medicinal Chemistry Letters 2018.0
Highly potent artemisinin-derived dimers and trimers: Synthesis and evaluation of their antimalarial, antileukemia and antiviral activities
Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry 2015.0
Synthesis and cytotoxic activity of new artemisinin hybrid molecules against human leukemia cells
Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry 2017.0
A novel artemisinin–quinine hybrid with potent antimalarial activity
Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry Letters 2007.0
Synthesis of Novel G Factor or Chloroquine-Artemisinin Hybrids and Conjugates with Potent Antiplasmodial Activity
ACS Medicinal Chemistry Letters 2020.0
Synthesis, in vitro antiplasmodial activity and cytotoxicity of a series of artemisinin–triazine hybrids and hybrid-dimers
European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry 2014.0
Synthesis of new betulinic acid/betulin-derived dimers and hybrids with potent antimalarial and antiviral activities
Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry 2019.0
Synthesis and evaluation of artesunate–indoloquinoline hybrids as antimalarial drug candidates
Med. Chem. Commun. 2014.0