Synthesis, antileishmanial, antimalarial evaluation and molecular docking study of some hydrazine-coupled pyrazole derivatives

Abstract

Abstract Pyrazole-bearing compounds are known for their diverse pharmacological effects including potent antileishmanial and antimalarial activities. Herein, some hydrazine-coupled pyrazole derivatives were successfully synthesized and their structures were verified by employing elemental microanalysis, FTIR, and 1H NMR techniques. The in vitro antileishmanial and in vivo antimalarial activities of the synthesized pyrazole derivatives (9–15) were assessed using the clinical isolate of the Leishmania aethiopica strain and mice infected with Plasmodium berghei ANKA strain, respectively. The result revealed that compound 13 displayed superior antipromastigote activity (IC50 = 0.018) that was 174- and 2.6-fold more potent than the standard drugs miltefosine (IC50 = 3.130) and amphotericin B deoxycholate (IC50 = 0.047). The molecular docking study conducted on Lm-PTR1 justified the better antileishmanial activity of compound 13. Furthermore, the target compounds 14 and 15 elicited better inhibition effects against Plasmodium berghei with 70.2% and 90.4% suppression, respectively. In conclusion, the hydrazine-coupled pyrazole derivatives may be considered potential pharmacophores for the synthesis of safe and effective antileishmanial and antimalarial agents.