Background: The role of small molecules as antioxidants to prevent the oxidation of
other molecules and inhibit them from radical formation is the area of much interest to cure disease
especially cancer. Moreover, the antioxidants play important role as stabilizers to prevent oxidation
of fuels and lubricants.
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Methods: In the present study, fifteen tetrakis-Schiff’s bases derivatives (1-15) were synthesized
and screened for their antioxidant activities. Compounds 1-15 were synthesized by continuous stirring
of reaction mixture of 1,4-bis (hydrazonomethyl)benzene (1 mmol) with various substituted
aromatic aldehydes (2 mmol) in distilled water using acetic acid as catalyst at room temperature for
2-10 min.
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Results: Our present study showed that all compounds are better ferrous ion-chelating agents except
compound 1,4-bis((E)-((E)-(3,4-dimethoxybenzylidene)hydrazono)methyl)benzene (6) (IC50 =
329.26 ± 4.75 µM) which has slightly low activity than the standard EDTA (IC50 = 318.40 ± 5.53
μM). In addition, DPPH radical scavenging activity of eleven compounds showed higher activity
than the standard. However, remaining four compounds showed comparable radical scavenging
activity to the standard DPPH (IC50 = 257.77 ± 4.60 µM).
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Conclusion: The series of fifteen Schiff’s bases (1-15) were synthesized and evaluated as antioxidants.
From both assays, it has been demonstrated that most of the tetrakis-Schiff’s bases have potential
to serve as leads for the development of antioxidant agents for future research.
