Chemical library design, QSAR modeling and molecular dynamics simulations of naturally occurring coumarins as dual inhibitors of MAO-B and AChE

Abstract

Coumarins are a highly privileged scaffold in medicinal chemistry. It is present in many natural products and is reported to display various pharmacological properties. A large plethora of compounds based on the coumarin ring system have been synthesized and were found to possess biological activities such as anticonvulsant, antiviral, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antioxidant as well as neuroprotective properties. Despite the wide activity spectrum of coumarins, its naturally occurring derivatives are yet to be investigated in detail. In the current study, a chemical library was created to assemble all chemical information related to naturally occurring coumarins from the literature. Additionally, a multi-stage virtual screening combining QSAR modeling, molecular docking, and ADMET prediction was conducted against monoamine oxidase B and acetylcholinesterase, two relevant targets known for their neuroprotective properties and ‘disease-modifying’ potential in Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease. Our findings revealed ten coumarin derivatives that may act as dual-target drugs against MAO-B and AChE. Two coumarin candidates were selected from the molecular docking study: CDB0738 and CDB0046 displayed favorable interactions for both proteins as well as suitable ADMET profiles. The stability of the selected coumarins was assessed through 100 ns molecular dynamics simulations which revealed promising stability through key molecular interactions for CDB0738 to act as dual inhibitor of MAO-B and AChE. However, experimental studies are necessary to evaluate the bioactivity of the proposed candidate. The current results may generate an increasing interest in bioprospecting naturally occurring coumarins as potential candidates against relevant macromolecular targets by encouraging virtual screening studies against our chemical library.

Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma

Keywords:

• Coumarin
• monoamine oxidase B
• acetylcholinesterase
• molecular docking
• ADMET prediction
• molecular dynamics simulations
• QSAR modeling

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Francisco Javier Luque Garriga, Professor in the Department of Chemical Physics, University of Barcelona, Spain, for his assistance. His contribution is sincerely appreciated and gratefully acknowledged.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

The authors gratefully acknowledge ProteinsInsights, Nangal Raya, New Delhi, India, for providing the computational resources essential for the successful completion of this research.