engleski

Fluorinated pyrazoline derivatives as acetylcholinesterase inhibitors

Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) is an enzyme responsible for the metabolism of acetylcholine (ACh), the neurotransmitter controlling motor activities in nematodes. Inhibition of AChE results in accumulation of ACh at neuromuscular junctions and leads to paralysis, which makes AChE a good target enzyme for the control of parasitic nematodes. AChE inhibitors used to control parasitic nematodes are mainly organophosphates and carbamates, however, due to their toxicity, they have been withdrawn or have restricted usage. Halogenated pyrazoline derivatives exhibit various biological activities, among them antibacterial, antifungal, and antimicrobial. A series of fluorinated pyrazolines was chosen for the investigation of possible AChE inhibition, using Ellman’s protocol modified for microplate reader. All tested compounds exhibited moderate to good inhibitory effect against AChE at 50 μM concentration, with compound 9 (Fig. 1) having the highest inhibition of 79.5 %. A molecular docking study was performed to gain insight into the binding interaction of compound 9 with AChE (PDB: 2c5g). Results show that compound 9 interacts with amino acid residues located in the peripheral active site of AChE, blocking the narrow passage to the catalytic site. The effect of fluorinated pyrazolines was also tested on two entomopathogenic nematodes, Heterorhabditis bacteriophora, and Steinernema feltiae. Entomopathogenic nematodes are beneficial nematodes used in insect pest management programs because of their resilience to pesticide exposure. Since these nematodes mostly have been unaffected by tested compounds, it indicates their potential use as plant protection agents.

fluorinated pyrazolines ; acetylcholinesterase ; molecular docking ; nematodes

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