Panduratin A Derivative Protects against Cisplatin-Induced Apoptosis of Renal Proximal Tubular Cells and Kidney Injury in Mice

Background: Panduratin A is a bioactive cyclohexanyl chalcone exhibiting several pharmacological activities, such as anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidative, and anti-cancer activities. Recently, the nephroprotective effect of panduratin A in cisplatin (CDDP) treatment was revealed. The present study examined the potential of certain compounds derived from panduratin A to protect against CDDP-induced nephrotoxicity. Methods: Three derivatives of panduratin A (DD-217, DD-218, and DD-219) were semi-synthesized from panduratin A. We investigated the effects and corresponding mechanisms of the derivatives of panduratin A for preventing nephrotoxicity of CDDP in both immortalized human renal proximal tubular cells (RPTEC/TERT1 cells) and mice. Results: Treating the cell with 10 µM panduratin A significantly reduced the viability of RPTEC/TERT1 cells compared to control (panduratin A: 72% ± 4.85%). Interestingly, DD-217, DD-218, and DD-219 at the same concentration did not significantly affect cell viability (92% ± 8.44%, 90% ± 7.50%, and 87 ± 5.2%, respectively). Among those derivatives, DD-218 exhibited the most protective effect against CDDP-induced renal proximal tubular cell apoptosis (control: 57% ± 1.23%; DD-218: 19% ± 10.14%; DD-219: 33% ± 14.06%). The cytoprotective effect of DD-218 was mediated via decreases in CDDP-induced mitochondria dysfunction, intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, activation of ERK1/2, and cleaved-caspase 3 and 7. In addition, DD-218 attenuated CDDP-induced nephrotoxicity by a decrease in renal injury and improved in renal dysfunction in C57BL/6 mice. Importantly, DD-218 did not attenuate the anti-cancer efficacy of CDDP in non-small-cell lung cancer cells or colon cancer cells. Conclusions: This finding suggests that DD-218, a derivative of panduratin A, holds promise as an adjuvant therapy in patients receiving CDDP.

High-content screening of Thai medicinal plants reveals Boesenbergia rotunda extract and its component Panduratin A as anti-SARS-CoV-2 agents

Since December 2019, the emergence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) has caused severe pneumonia, a disease named COVID-19, that became pandemic and created an acute threat to public health. The effective therapeutics are in urgent need. Here, we developed a high-content screening for the antiviral candidates using fluorescence-based SARS-CoV-2 nucleoprotein detection in Vero E6 cells coupled with plaque reduction assay. Among 122 Thai natural products, we found that Boesenbergia rotunda extract and its phytochemical compound, panduratin A, exhibited the potent anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity. Treatment with B. rotunda extract and panduratin A after viral infection drastically suppressed SARS-CoV-2 infectivity in Vero E6 cells with IC50 of 3.62 μg/mL (CC50 = 28.06 µg/mL) and 0.81 μΜ (CC50 = 14.71 µM), respectively. Also, the treatment of panduratin A at the pre-entry phase inhibited SARS-CoV-2 infection with IC50 of 5.30 µM (CC50 = 43.47 µM). Our study demonstrated, for the first time, that panduratin A exerts the inhibitory effect against SARS-CoV-2 infection at both pre-entry and post-infection phases. Apart from Vero E6 cells, treatment with this compound was able to suppress viral infectivity in human airway epithelial cells. This result confirmed the potential of panduratin A as the anti-SARS-CoV-2 agent in the major target cells in human. Since B. rotunda is a culinary herb generally grown in China and Southeast Asia, its extract and the purified panduratin A may serve as the promising candidates for therapeutic purposes with economic advantage during COVID-19 situation.

High-Content Screening of Thai Medicinal Plants Reveals Boesenbergia rotunda Extract and its Component Panduratin A as Anti-SARS-CoV-2 Agents

Since December 2019, the emergence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) has caused severe pneumonia, a disease named COVID-19, that became pandemic and created an acute threat to public health. The effective therapeutics are in urgent need. Here, we developed a high-content screening for the antiviral candidates using fluorescence-based SARS-CoV-2 nucleoprotein detection in Vero E6 cells coupled with plaque reduction assay. Among 122 Thai natural products, we found that Boesenbergia rotunda extract and its phytochemical compound, panduratin A, exhibited the potent anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity. Treatment with B. rotunda extract and panduratin A after viral infection drastically suppressed SARS-CoV-2 infectivity in Vero E6 cells with IC50 of 3.62 μg/mL (CC50 = 28.06 µg/mL) and 0.81 μΜ (CC50=14.71 µM), respectively. Also, the treatment of panduratin A at the pre-entry phase inhibited SARS-CoV-2 infection with IC50 of 5.30 µM (CC50=43.47 µM). Our study demonstrated, for the first time, that panduratin A exerts the inhibitory effect against SARS-CoV-2 infection at both pre-entry and post-infection phases. Since B. rotunda is a culinary herb generally grown in China and Southeast Asia, its extract and the purified panduratin A may serve as the promising candidates for therapeutic purposes with economic advantage during COVID-19 situation.

Synthesis and Molecular Docking Study of 1-(3-Chloropropyl)-3,5-Bis((E)-4-Methoxybenzylidene)Piperidin-4-One as Dengue Virus Type 2 (DEN2) NS2B/NS3 Protease Inhibitor Candidate

Curcumin is a secondary metabolite compound that has diverse biological activities. However, it is easily hydrolyzed at physiological pH due to the presence of the β-diketone group. Therefore, the replacement of the β-diketone group with mono ketone is expected to overcome this issue. We hereby report the synthesis of mono ketone curcumin derivatives from piperidone by two-steps reactions. The synthesis of curcumin derivate 3 was carried out by Claisen-Schmidt condensation between 4-piperidone and 4-methoxybenzaldehyde using alkaline catalyst. The synthesized curcumin derivate 3 was then reacted with the 1-bromo-3-chloropropane to produce curcumin derivate 5, 1-(3-chloropropyl)-3.5-bis((E)-4-methoxybenzylidene)piperidin-4-one, with 72% yield. The calculated docking scores, the curcumin derivate 5 possessed a better affinity for receptors than the standard panduratin A. The curcumin derivate 5 has a lower docking score of -6.40 kcal/mol compared to panduratin A with value of -5.18 kcal/mol and also had strong binding interactions to DEN2 NS2B/NS3 protease. Thus, this compound is promising candidate as a new anti-dengue agent.