Preparation and evaluation of a coumarin library towards the inhibitory activity of the enzyme gGAPDH from Trypanosoma cruzi

Chagas' disease, caused by Trypanosoma cruzi, is endemic in 15 countries in Latin America. In this work a library of 38 coumarins was prepared in solution phase and evaluated against T cruzi glycolytic enzyme glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate-dehydrogenase (gGAPDH). The synthetic route was based on the Knoevenagel condensation of different 2-hydroxybenzaldehydes with Meldrum's acid or diethyl malonate, followed by O-alkylation and/or transesterification reactions. Among the prepared coumarins, the best values obtained to inhibit 50% of the enzymatic activity range from 80 to 130 mu M.