Synthesis and antioxidant activity evaluations of melatonin-based analogue indole-hydrazide/hydrazone derivatives

Melatonin (MLT) is a hormone synthesized from the pineal gland. It is a direct scavenger of free radicals, which is related to its capability to defend cells from oxidative stress. Recently MLT-related compounds are under investigation to establish which exhibit the maximum activity with the lowest side effects. In this study 5-chloroindole hydrazide/hydrazone derivatives were synthesized from 5-chloroindole-3-carboxaldehyde and phenyl hydrazine derivatives. All the compounds characterized and in vitro antioxidant activity was investigated against MLT and BHT. Most of the compounds showed strong inhibitory effect on the superoxide radical scavenging assay at 1 mM concentration (79 to 95%). Almost all the tested compounds possessed strong scavenging activity against the DPPH radical scavenging activity with IC50 values (2 to 60 mu M). Lastly, compound 1j revealed stronger inhibitory activity against MLT in the LP inhibitory assay at 0.1mM concentration (51%) while the rest of the compounds showed moderate inhibition.