Synthesis, In Vitro Evaluation and Molecular Docking of the 5-Acetyl-2-aryl-6-hydroxybenzo[]furans against Multiple Targets Linked to Type 2 Diabetes.

The 5-acetyl-2-aryl-6-hydroxybenzo[]furans - have been evaluated through in vitro enzymatic assay against targets which are linked to type 2 diabetes (T2D), namely, α-glucosidase, protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B (PTP1B) and β-secretase. These compounds have also been evaluated for antioxidant activity using the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free-radical scavenging method. The most active compounds against α-glucosidase and/or PTP1B, namely, 4-fluorophenyl , 4-methoxyphenyl and 3,5-dimethoxyphenyl substituted derivatives were also evaluated for potential anti-inflammatory properties against cyclooxygenase-2 activity. The Lineweaver-Burk and Dixon plots were used to determine the type of inhibition on compounds and against α-glucosidase and PTP1B receptors. The interactions were investigated in modelled complexes against α-glucosidase and PTP1B via molecular docking.