1. Bufotenine and its derivatives: synthesis, analgesic effects identification and computational target prediction
- Author
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Xiao-Long Wang, Chao Zhao, Nian-Guang Li, Shan-Liang Sun, Han Xu, Hong-Yue Ma, He-Min Li, Huan-Huan Chen, Yue Zhong, Min Chen, and Jiao-Jiao Wang
- Subjects
Aché ,Analgesic ,Pain ,Receptors, Nicotinic ,Pharmacology ,01 natural sciences ,Mice ,03 medical and health sciences ,chemistry.chemical_compound ,0302 clinical medicine ,In vivo ,Drug Discovery ,medicine ,Animals ,Nicotinic Agonists ,Receptor ,Ion channel ,Analgesics ,Natural product ,Bufotenin ,010405 organic chemistry ,General Medicine ,language.human_language ,0104 chemical sciences ,Nicotinic acetylcholine receptor ,Complementary and alternative medicine ,chemistry ,030220 oncology & carcinogenesis ,Morphine ,language ,medicine.drug - Abstract
Natural product bufotenine (5) which could be isolated from Venenum Bufonis, has been widely used as a tool in central nervous system (CNS) studies. We present here its quaternary ammonium salt (6) which was synthesized with high yields using 5-benzyloxyindole as raw materials, and we firstly discover its analgesic effects in vivo. The analgesic evaluation showed that compounds 5 and 6 had stronger effects on the behavior of formalin induced pain in mice. Moreover, the combination of compound 6 and morphine has a synergistic effect. We intended to explain the molecular mechanism of this effect. Therefore, 36 analgesic-related targets (including 15 G protein-coupled receptors, 6 enzymes, 13 ion channels, and 2 others) were systemically evaluated using reverse docking. The results indicate that bufotenine and its derivatives are closely related to acetyl cholinesterase (AChE) or α4β2 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR). This study provides practitioners a new insight of analgesic effects.
- Published
- 2021