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Design, synthesis, and antidepressant/anticonvulsant activities of 3H-benzo[f]chromen chalcone derivatives

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Abstract

In this study, 19 3H-benzo[f]chromen chalcone derivatives (2a–2s) were obtained from 2-hydroxy-1-naphthaldehyde as the starting material, and their structures were confirmed by IR, 1H NMR, 13C NMR, and ESI-MS analyses. The antidepressant activities of the compounds were evaluated in mice after one 30 mg/kg dose by means of forced swimming tests, and 18 of the compounds (2a–2l, 2n–2s) showed antidepressant activity, of which three (2b, 2d, and 2n) showed strong antidepressant activity. Furthermore, all the compounds showed some anticonvulsant activity, with 11 of the compounds (2a–2g, 2k, 2m, 2n, and 2q) inhibiting convulsions in the maximal electroshock seizure (MES) test after one dose of 100 mg/kg, and the other eight inhibiting convulsions in the MES after one dose of 300 mg/kg. In the tail suspension test, all the compounds did not show neurotoxicity at the same dose. This research provides an experimental theoretical basis for finding new antidepressants with high biological activity and few side effects.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by Zhejiang Province Public Technology Application Project of China (No. 2017C33131). We thank Arshad Makhdum, PhD, from LiwenBianji, Edanz Group China (www.liwenbianji.cn/ac), for editing the English text of a draft of this manuscript.

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  1. These authors contributed equally: Qiu-Wan Tan and Li-Ya He

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  1. Food and Pharmacy College, Zhejiang Ocean University, Zhejiang, Zhoushan, 316022, China

    Qiu-Wan Tan, Li-Ya He, Zhi-Wen He, Wei-Hua Liu, Shan-Shan Zhang, Lin Lin, Hong-Li Yang & Li-Ping Guan

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Tan, QW., He, LY., He, ZW. et al. Design, synthesis, and antidepressant/anticonvulsant activities of 3H-benzo[f]chromen chalcone derivatives. Med Chem Res 30, 1427–1437 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00044-021-02742-5

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