Mechanochemical Synthesis and Antioxidant Activity of Curcumin-Templated Azoles

A solvent-free, mechanochemical method for the synthesis of curcumin (1) derived 3,5-bis(styryl)pyrazoles and 3,5-bis(styryl)isoxazole (2a-g) at room temperature, with very short reaction time, is reported. Such earlier structural modifications of curcumin, at its β-diketone unit by transforming it into an isosteric pyrazole or isoxazole unit, required prolonged heating. The evaluation of the antioxidant activity of these compounds, based on DPPH, FRAP, and β-carotene bleaching assays, showed that several of these azoles are better antioxidants than curcumin, with the isoxazole derivative 2g being overall the best. Typically, the inhibition of 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (10(-2) mmol), expressed as EC50 values, by curcumin (1), 3,5-bis(4-hydroxy-3-methoxystyryl)pyrazole (2a), and 3,5-bis(4-hydroxy-3-methoxystyryl)isoxazole (2g) are 40 ± 0.06, 14 ± 0.18, and 8 ± 0.11 μmol, respectively. Moreover, the reported method is useful in accessing 3,5-bis(4-hydroxy-3-methoxystyryl)-1-phenylpyrazole (2b), which is important in studies related to neuroprotection and Alzheimer's disease, and 2a and 2g, which are inhibitors of protein kinases involved in neuronal excitotoxicity.