Sixteen novel coumarin-based compounds are reported as potent acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitors. The most active compound in this series, 5a (IC50 0.04 ± 0.01 µM), noncompetitively inhibited AChE with a higher potency than tacrine and galantamine. Compounds 5d, 5j, and 5 m showed a moderate antilipid peroxidation activity. The compounds showed cytotoxicity in the same range as the standard drugs in HEK-293 cells. Molecular docking demonstrated that 5a acted as a dual binding site inhibitor. The coumarin moiety occupied the peripheral anionic site and showed π-π interaction with Trp278. The tertiary amino group displayed significant cation-π interaction with Phe329. The aromatic group showed π-π interaction with Trp83 at the catalytic anionic site. The long chain of methylene lay along the gorge interacting with Phe330 via hydrophobic interaction. Molecular docking was applied to postulate the selectivity toward AChE of 5a in comparison with donepezil and tacrine. Structural insights into the selectivity of the coumarin derivatives toward huAChE were explored by molecular docking and 3D QSAR and molecular dynamics simulation for 20 ns. ADMET analysis suggested that the 2-(2-oxo-2H-chromen-4-yl)acetamides showed a good pharmacokinetic profile and no hepatotoxicity. These coumarin derivatives showed high potential for further development as anti-Alzheimer agents.
New coumarin derivatives were designed using a 2-(2-oxo-2H-chromen-4-yl)acetic acid scaffold conjugated with amino acid esters or tyramine. The anti-tyrosinase and anti-lipid peroxidation activities of the synthesized compounds were investigated. Coumarin derivatives 7,9, 11-13, 15-18 showed strong anti-lipid peroxidation activity. Compound 13 exhibited uncompetitive tyrosinase inhibitory activity with an IC50 value of 68.86 µM. Compound 14 (% activity = 123.41) showed stronger tyrosinase activating activity than 8-methoxypsolaren (8-MOP, % activity = 109.46). In silico studies revealed different poses between the inhibitors and activators near the tyrosinase catalytic site. Compounds 13 (25-50 μM) and 14 (25-100 μM) did not show cytotoxicity against B16F10 cells. In contrast to the tyrosinase inhibition assay, compound 13 (50 μM) suppressed melanogenesis in B16F10 cells with two times higher potency than KA (100 μM). Compound 14 at 100 μM showed melanogenesis enhancement in B16F10 cells in a dose-dependent manner, however, inferior to the 8-MOP. Based on the findings, compound 13 and 14 offer potential for development as skin-lightening agents and vitiligo therapy agents, respectively.