Synthesis, Characterization, and In Vitro Evaluation of Alpha-amylase and Alpha-glucosidase Studies of 2,3,4-tri imidazole Derivatives

In medicinal chemistry, employing privileged scaffolds gives researchers a jump start in searching for novel and improved therapeutic agents. The imidazole ring, which has a variety of derivatives that have shown a broad range of biological functions, is one such scaffold. New imidazole (4a-4e) derivatives were synthesized under reflux conditions or ultrasonic irradiation, and identified via melting point, FTIR, 1H NMR, 13C NMR, and mass spectroscopy. The ultrasonic-assisted reactions were compared with the reactions that proceeded under traditional heating conditions comparing the ultrasonic to conventional heating, there is a significant difference in the rate of reaction, purity, as well as yields. All prepared compounds were then investigated in vitro as antidiabetic agents using α-amylase and α-glucosidase assays with the reference drug acarbose at various concentrations (50, 100, 150, 200, and 250 μg/mL). All evaluated com-pounds were found to be more active than acarbose (32% - 63%) against α-amylase with percentage inhibition lying in the range of 49%-82%. In vitro, assays of α-glucosidase activity showed a percentage inhibition ranging from 26%-47% for 4a, 21%-34% for 4b, 24%-44% for 4c, 27%-52% for 4d, and 29%-48% for 4e, which were lower than that of acarbose (43%-61%) at concentrations ranging over 50-200 μg/mL, In contrast at a concentration of 250 μg/mL the percentage inhibitions of 4a, 4c, and 4d, at 56%, 58%, and 61%, respectively, were closer to acarbose at 66%. As a result, the investigated compounds may have α-amylase and α-glucosidase inhibitory activity and may be utilized as anti-diabetic agents.