Assessment of the Lipophilicity of Indole Derivatives of Betulin and Their Toxicity in a Zebrafish Model

There are scientific studies indicating that the attachment of an indole moiety to the triterpene scaffold can lead to increased anticancer potential. Lipophilicity is one of the factors that may influence biological properties and is therefore an important parameter to determine for newly obtained...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Zuzanna Rzepka, Katarzyna Bober-Majnusz, Justyna Magdalena Hermanowicz, Ewa Bębenek, Elwira Chrobak, Arkadiusz Surażyński, Dorota Wrześniok
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2024-09-01
Series:Molecules
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/29/18/4408
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:There are scientific studies indicating that the attachment of an indole moiety to the triterpene scaffold can lead to increased anticancer potential. Lipophilicity is one of the factors that may influence biological properties and is therefore an important parameter to determine for newly obtained compounds as drug candidates. In the present study, previously synthesized 3 and/or 28-indole-betulin derivatives were evaluated for lipophilicity by reversed-phase thin-layer chromatography. The experimental values of lipophilicity (logP<sub>TLC</sub>) were then subjected to correlation analysis with theoretical values of logP, as well as for selected physicochemical and pharmacokinetic parameters and anticancer activity. A toxicity test using zebrafish embryos and larvae was also conducted. High correlation was observed between the experimental and theoretical values of lipophilicity. We presented correlation equations and statistical parameters describing the relationships between logP<sub>TLC</sub> and several physicochemical and ADME parameters. We also revealed the lack of correlation between the experimental values of lipophilicity and anticancer activity. Moreover, experiments on zebrafish have confirmed no toxicity of the tested compounds, which was consistent with the results of the in silico toxicity analysis. The results demonstrated, using the example of indole derivatives of betulin, the utility of lipophilicity values in the context of predicting the biological activity of new compounds.
ISSN:1420-3049