Antifungal effects of fluorinated pyrazole aldehydes: Biological activity evaluation and molecular docking studies

Pyrazoline derivatives exhibit a variety of biological activities, such as antifungal, antiviral, and antibacterial. Biological effects depend on the type of substituents and their position in the ring. [1] The aim of this study was to evaluate the inhibitory effects of fluorinated pyrazole aldehydes against plant pathogenic fungi (Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici, Fusarium culmorum, Macrophomina phaseolina and Sclerotinia sclerotiourum). The compounds demonstrated moderate activity against phytopathogenic fungi. The highest efficiency has shown 2-chlorophenyl derivative (H9) against F. culmorum (46.75%). In order to determine the binding affinity and interactions of the most active compounds with three enzymes responsible for the fungal growth and the three plant cell wall-degrading enzymes, molecular docking was performed. In order to determine the possible mechanism of action of derivatives against pathogenic fungi, molecular docking study has been performed on three enzymes responsible for the fungal growth: demethylase (sterol 14α-demethylase (CYP51), PDB: 5EAH) ; chitinase (PDB: 4TXE) ; transferase (N-myristoyltransferase, PDB: 2P6G) ; and the three plant cell wall-degrading enzymes: endoglucanase I (PDB: 2OVW) ; proteinase K (PDB: 2PWB) ; pectinase (endopolygalacturonase, PDB: 1CZF). The future derivatives should be designed to be more effective against pathogenic fungi without negative effects on beneficial organisms, environment pollution, and human health