Synthesis, characterization, and in vitro and in silico α-glucosidase inhibitory evolution of novel N'-(2-cyclopentyl-2-phenylacetyl)cinnamohydrazide derivatives.

To discover potential α-glucosidase inhibitory agents, a new series of N'-(2-cyclopentyl-2-phenylacetyl)cinnamohydrazide derivatives were designed and synthesized as α-glucosidase inhibitors. The newly synthesized compounds were characterized using (1)H, (13)C NMR, and mass spectroscopy analysis and evaluated for their in vitro α-glucosidase inhibitory effects. All the tested compounds displayed significant α-glucosidase inhibitory activity compared to the standard drug acarbose. Among all, compounds 7b, 7d and 6g exhibited the strongest inhibition with IC(50) values of 14.48 nmol, 18.88 nmol and 28.51 nmol, respectively. Molecular docking analysis was conducted to identify the important binding interactions responsible for inhibition activity of a-glucosidase. The compounds 7b and 7d exhibit the highest docking energies, with same value of -10.1 kcal mol(-1) with crucial hydrogen bonding interactions with HIS:280 and ASN:415, respectively. Furthermore, computational drug likeness/ADME/toxicity analysis was conducted on the compounds, which indicated that these compounds exhibit drug-like properties and possess favourable ADME and toxicity profiles.