Mari-mari (Cassia leiandra Benth.) is an Amazonian native fruit that is highly appreciated in the northern region of Brazil, but there are few studies regarding its chemical composition and/or biological properties. A phytochemical study was conducted on the extracts of the pulp, peel and seeds; and their antioxidant, cytotoxic and antimicrobial potential were also determined. Methanol and acetone extracts from different fruit parts were subjected to total phenolic, 2,2-diphenyl-1 picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging and FeIII reducing capacity (FRAP) assays. From the peel extracts, the engeletin and astilbin could also be isolated and characterized based on nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and high-resolution mass spectrometry. A quantification using ultra-fast liquid chromatography of acetone dry crude extracts (DCE) of the peel showed that engeletin was the main compound (532.77 mg g-1 DCE). Astilbin content was also determined (131.53 mg g-1 DCE). The antibacterial and antiproliferative activities were evaluated and the methanol extract of the peel showed higher growth inhibition activity against all tested bacteria. Engeletin showed a relevant antimicrobial effect against Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis and Escherichia coli. Acetone and methanol peel extracts exhibited a relevant inhibitory effect on the proliferation of breast carcinoma cells (MCF-7), with no toxicity to the normal cell line (NIH/3T3).

In this work, it is described the design of twenty-four heterocyclic amine-azachalcones compounds through molecular hybridization of chalcone scaffold and fragments of isoniazid, fluoroquinolones, and linezolid with antituberculosis potential. The new compounds were synthesized via Claisen-Schmidt condensation, providing yields of 36-95%. Fifteen compounds showed antituberculosis activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv strain. Two amine-azachalcones 15 and 17 showed relevant biological activity with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values of 6.62 and 4.85 µM, respectively. Compound 12 showed the best profile of antitubercular activity with MIC = 9.54 µM and selectivity index (SI) = 9.33. It was found that morpholine group is important to increase potency of antimycobacterial activity but also to add some toxicity to the chalcone molecular framework. The results described herein would be a guide in the designing of novel and optimized antitubercular derivatives based on the chalcone scaffold.

We report herein the design and synthesis via click chemistry of twelve novel triazole retinoid analogues of tamibarotene (AM80) and the evaluation of their anticancer activities against six cancer cell lines: HL60, K562, 786, HT29, MCF7 and PC3. Among the synthesized compounds, two were more potent than tamibarotene against solid tumor cells, and one of them had similar potency to tamibarotene against HL60 cells. The bioisosteric exchange between the amide group and the 1,2,3-triazole core in the retinoid agent tamibarotene (AM80) reported in this work is a valid strategy for the generation of useful compounds against cancer.