Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Maribel O. Marcarino, Soledad Cicetti, Maria M. Zanardi, Ariel M. Sarotti
Summary: This study discusses the use of DP4+ in the elucidation of natural product structures, highlighting both its strengths and weaknesses, and providing recommendations on how to obtain optimal results. Research shows that DP4+ plays a significant role in resolving disputed natural product structures.
NATURAL PRODUCT REPORTS
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Medicinal
Sho Konno, Kiyotaka Kobayashi, Miki Senda, Yuta Funai, Yuta Seki, Ikumi Tamai, Laura Schaekel, Kyousuke Sakata, Thanigaimalai Pillaiyar, Akihiro Taguchi, Atsuhiko Taniguchi, Michael Guetschow, Christa E. Mueller, Koh Takeuchi, Mikako Hirohama, Atsushi Kawaguchi, Masaki Kojima, Toshiya Senda, Yoshiyuki Shirasaka, Wataru Kamitani, Yoshio Hayashi
Summary: This study reports the discovery of peptidomimetic compounds that exhibit potent activity against SARS-CoV-2 3CL protease. The most effective inhibitor, YH-53, was found to block virus replication. Structural analysis and additional experimental studies suggest that YH-53 has the potential to be a leading candidate for treating COVID-19.
JOURNAL OF MEDICINAL CHEMISTRY
(2022)
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Ramesh Kumar Saini, Arina Ranjit, Kavita Sharma, Parchuri Prasad, Xiaomin Shang, Karekal Girinur Mallikarjuna Gowda, Young-Soo Keum
Summary: Increasing consumption of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains reduces the risk of metabolic syndrome-related diseases, such as neurodegenerative diseases, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer. Citrus fruits, rich in carotenoids, flavonoids, terpenes, limonoids, and other bioactive compounds, have been shown to have health benefits in preventing metabolic syndrome. Citrus essential oil, containing limonoids and terpenes, also has antioxidant, antimicrobial, and flavoring properties. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the composition and health benefits of citrus bioactives.
Review
Chemistry, Medicinal
Yuanyuan Zhang, Ping Cai, Guanghui Cheng, Yongqiang Zhang
Summary: This review gathers and systematizes available information on phenolic compounds from plants, including different types, extraction and analysis methods, with a focus on their potential biological activities. It also suggests research directions and problems that should be addressed for further study on phenolic compounds.
NATURAL PRODUCT COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Review
Chemistry, Medicinal
Julien Guiot, Akshayaa Vaidyanathan, Louis Deprez, Fadila Zerka, Denis Danthine, Anne-Noelle Frix, Philippe Lambin, Fabio Bottari, Nathan Tsoutzidis, Benjamin Miraglio, Sean Walsh, Wim Vos, Roland Hustinx, Marta Ferreira, Pierre Lovinfosse, Ralph T. H. Leijenaar
Summary: Radiomics is a method for quantitatively analyzing medical images to create diagnostic, prognostic, and/or predictive models. It utilizes sophisticated image analysis tools and statistical methods to extract hidden information in medical images, but caution is needed to avoid overenthusiastic claims and scientific pollution.
MEDICINAL RESEARCH REVIEWS
(2022)
Article
Plant Sciences
Chen Fu, Yifan Wu, Shaojiao Liu, Chaoqin Luo, Yuqiao Lu, Menghan Liu, Lingfeng Wang, Yunling Zhang, Xuemei Liu
Summary: This study aims to investigate the effect of Rehmannioside A on cognitive impairment after ischemia in rats and SH-SY5Y cells, and further evaluate the anti-oxidative and anti-ferroptosis mechanisms.
JOURNAL OF ETHNOPHARMACOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Medicinal
Jonathan Shearer, Jose L. Castro, Alastair D. G. Lawson, Malcolm MacCoss, Richard D. Taylor
Summary: In this study, we conducted a comprehensive analysis of ring compounds and FDA-approved drugs. We found that 67% of small molecules in clinical trials only utilize ring systems that are already present in marketed drugs. Additionally, there are approximately 450,000 unique ring systems derived from synthesized chemical space, but molecules in clinical trials represent only 0.1% of this pool. Furthermore, by making systematic changes to existing drug and clinical trial ring systems, we were able to predict potential future clinical trial ring systems that could cover a significant portion of novel ring systems entering clinical trials.
JOURNAL OF MEDICINAL CHEMISTRY
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Slav A. Semerdzhiev, Mohammad A. A. Fakhree, Ine Segers-Nolten, Christian Blum, Mireille M. A. E. Claessens
Summary: The first reported cases suggest a correlation between SARS-CoV-2 infections and Parkinson's disease (PD), but the causal link remains unclear. Through test tube experiments, researchers found that the nucleocapsid protein (N-protein) of SARS-CoV-2 significantly accelerates the aggregation of alpha-synuclein protein, a characteristic feature of PD. These findings indicate a direct molecular interaction between SARS-CoV-2 and alpha-synuclein, providing insight into the observed correlation.
ACS CHEMICAL NEUROSCIENCE
(2022)
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Ruben Dominguez, Mirian Pateiro, Paulo E. S. Munekata, Wangang Zhang, Paula Garcia-Oliveira, Maria Carpena, Miguel A. Prieto, Benjamin Bohrer, Jose M. Lorenzo
Summary: Muscle foods and their products, with their high protein content and essential amino acids, are crucial for meeting the nutritional requirements of humans. However, due to their composition, muscle foods are prone to oxidative degradation, which can negatively impact their quality. Protein oxidation reactions in muscle foods have received less attention compared to lipid oxidation, but understanding and controlling these reactions are vital for the food industry. This review focuses on the mechanisms, factors, and analytical methods related to protein oxidation, as well as the effects of protein oxidation on the physicochemical and nutritional aspects of muscle foods.
Article
Chemistry, Medicinal
Bing Bai, Alexandr Belovodskiy, Mostofa Hena, Appan Srinivas Kandadai, Michael A. Joyce, Holly A. Saffran, Justin A. Shields, Muhammad Bashir Khan, Elena Arutyunova, Jimmy Lu, Sardeev K. Bajwa, Darren Hockman, Conrad Fischer, Tess Lamer, Wayne Vuong, Marco J. van Belkum, Zhengxian Gu, Fusen Lin, Yanhua Du, Jia Xu, Mohammad Rahim, Howard S. Young, John C. Vederas, D. Lorne Tyrrell, M. Joanne Lemieux, James A. Nieman
Summary: This study describes novel antiviral compounds against coronaviruses, which have good activity and stability, and show effective inhibition of SARS-CoV-2 replication. They also exhibit better selectivity index and broad-spectrum antiviral activity against different types of coronaviruses.
JOURNAL OF MEDICINAL CHEMISTRY
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Medicinal
Viraj Bagal, Rishal Aggarwal, P. K. Vinod, U. Deva Priyakumar
Summary: The application of deep learning techniques in inverse molecular design for drug design has gained significant attention. In this study, we train a transformer-decoder model, MolGPT, on the next token prediction task using masked self-attention, and demonstrate that it performs on par with other modern machine learning frameworks for generating valid, unique, and novel druglike molecules. We also show that the model can be trained conditionally to control multiple properties of the generated molecules.
JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL INFORMATION AND MODELING
(2022)
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
N. Jeelan Basha, S. M. Basavarajaiah, K. Shyamsunder
Summary: The chemistry of nitrogen-containing heterocyclic compound pyrrole and pyrrolidine has been extensively studied due to their diverse biological and medicinal importance. Metal complexes of pyrrole, such as chlorophyll, hemoglobin, myoglobin, and cytochrome, play vital roles in living systems. Additionally, many medicinal drugs are derived from pyrrole, pyrrolidine, or their fused analogs. This review focuses on the therapeutic potential of pyrrole and pyrrolidine, particularly in anticancer, anti-inflammatory, antiviral, and antituberculosis applications. It also summarizes recent reports on pyrrole and pyrrolidine analogs and their biological potential.
MOLECULAR DIVERSITY
(2022)
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Senhua Chen, Runlin Cai, Zhaoming Liu, Hui Cui, Zhigang She
Summary: This review summarizes the discoveries of new metabolites isolated from mangrove-associated fungi over the past thirty years, focusing on the bioactivity and unique chemical diversity of these natural products.
NATURAL PRODUCT REPORTS
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Weiwei Xue, Tingting Fu, Shengzhe Deng, Fengyuan Yang, Jingyi Yang, Feng Zhu
Summary: This study explored the allosteric modulation mechanism of hSERT using two MD simulation strategies. The results showed that escitalopram enhanced its binding to the orthosteric site by binding to the allosteric site. Additionally, escitalopram occupying the allosteric site also blocked its dissociation from the orthosteric site. A new conformational coupling between extracellular and intracellular salt bridges was also identified. These findings are important for understanding the allosteric modulations of not only hSERT but also other clinically important therapeutic targets.
ACS CHEMICAL NEUROSCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Hazem Elkady, Alaa Elwan, Hesham A. El-Mahdy, Ahmed S. Doghish, Ahmed Ismail, Mohammed S. Taghour, Eslam B. Elkaeed, Ibrahim H. Eissa, Mohammed A. Dahab, Hazem A. Mahdy, Mohamed M. Khalifa
Summary: A new series of benzoxazole derivatives with essential pharmacophoric features of VEGFR-2 inhibitors were synthesized and evaluated for their cytotoxic activities. Compound 14b showed high activities against cancer cells and exhibited anti-angiogenic and pro-apoptotic effects.
JOURNAL OF ENZYME INHIBITION AND MEDICINAL CHEMISTRY
(2022)
Article
Plant Sciences
Richard B. van Breemen, Ruth N. Muchiri, Timothy A. Bates, Jules B. Weinstein, Hans C. Leier, Scotland Farley, Fikadu G. Tafesse
Summary: Cannabigerolic acid and cannabidiolic acid from hemp have been found to prevent infection by SARS-CoV-2 and its variants. They are orally bioavailable and safe for human use, making them potential candidates for preventing and treating COVID-19.
JOURNAL OF NATURAL PRODUCTS
(2022)
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Ramesh Kumar Saini, Parchuri Prasad, Veeresh Lokesh, Xiaomin Shang, Juhyun Shin, Young-Soo Keum, Ji-Ho Lee
Summary: This review discusses the recent developments in the research on natural carotenoids, including their chemistry, antioxidant activity, extraction methods, encapsulation techniques, and health benefits. The review also highlights the preclinical, clinical, and epidemiological studies on the potential benefits of carotenoids in various diseases.
Article
Chemistry, Medicinal
Sang Hoon Han, Christopher M. Goins, Tarun Arya, Woo-Jin Shin, Joshua Maw, Alice Hooper, Dhiraj P. Sonawane, Matthew R. Porter, Breyanne E. Bannister, Rachel D. Crouch, A. Abigail Lindsey, Gabriella Lakatos, Steven R. Martinez, Joseph Alvarado, Wendell S. Akers, Nancy S. Wang, Jae U. Jung, Jonathan D. Macdonald, Shaun R. Stauffer
Summary: Starting from ML300, a structure-based optimization campaign was conducted against the SARS-CoV-2 main protease, resulting in the discovery of compound 41 with antiviral activity. This study provides important insights for the development of antiviral drugs in combating SARS-like coronavirus outbreaks.
JOURNAL OF MEDICINAL CHEMISTRY
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Medicinal
Wei Hou, Hongtao Xu
Summary: This article summarizes and discusses the relationship between the pharmacological activities and chemical properties of selenium compounds and the strategic incorporation of selenium into organic molecules, as well as provides perspectives on future research directions.
JOURNAL OF MEDICINAL CHEMISTRY
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Mohammed S. Taghour, Hazem Elkady, Wagdy M. Eldehna, Nehal M. El-Deeb, Ahmed M. Kenawy, Eslam B. Elkaeed, Aisha A. Alsfouk, Mohamed S. Alesawy, Ahmed M. Metwaly, Ibrahim. H. Eissa
Summary: In this study, a thiazolidine-2,4-dione nucleus was combined with effective antitumor moieties to create new hybrids with potential activity against VEGFR-2. Compound 12a showed the strongest inhibitory effect on various cancer cell lines and exhibited high affinity for VEGFR-2. Furthermore, all tested compounds demonstrated high safety profiles in non-cancerous cell lines.
JOURNAL OF ENZYME INHIBITION AND MEDICINAL CHEMISTRY
(2022)