Discovery of potent and selective acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitors: acacetin 7-O-methyl ether Mannich base derivatives synthesised from easy access natural product naringin

Naringin, as a component universal existing in the peel of some fruits or medicinal plants, was usually selected as the material to synthesise bioactive derivates since it was easy to gain with low cost. In present investigation, eight new acacetin-7-O-methyl ether Mannich base derivatives (1–8) were synthesised from naringin. The bioactivity evaluation revealed that most of them exhibited moderate or potent acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitory activity. Among them, compound 7 (IC₅₀ for AChE = 0.82 ± 0.08 μmol?L^?1, IC₅₀ for BuChE = 46.30 ± 3.26 μmol?L^?1) showed a potent activity and high selectivity compared with the positive control Rivastigmine (IC₅₀ for AChE = 10.54 ± 0.86 μmol?L^?1, IC₅₀ for BuChE = 0.26 ± 0.08 μmol?L^?1). The kinetic study suggested that compound 7 bind to AChE with mix-type inhibitory profile. Molecular docking study revealed that compound 7 could combine both catalytic active site (CAS) and peripheral active site (PAS) of AChE with four points (Trp84, Trp279, Tyr70 and Phe330), while it could bind with BuChE via only His 20.