Comparative study of antioxidant and antimicrobial activity of berberine-derived Schiff bases, nitro-berberine and amino-berberine

Abstract

In recent years, the scientific community has focused on traditional natural products and their potential therapeutic benefits. Berberine is a plant-derived isoquinoline alkaloid with a variety of biological properties and identified as a promising pharmacophore for discovering new therapeutic agents against various diseases. However, unfavorable pharmacokinetic properties of berberine have limited its clinical application so much that researchers pursue its structure modification to overcome this problem. This study focuses on the synthesis of new berberine derivatives to improve its antioxidant and antimicrobial potentials, which were characterized using CHNO and NMR instruments. Berberine extracted from barberry root was nitrated, reduced to amine and condensed with benzaldehyde derivatives to produce berberine-based Schiff bases. The H atom donating ability of all compounds was measured against DPPH free radicals, with IC50 values ranging from 18.28 to 108.20 μg ml