Design and synthesis of novel pyranone-based insulin sensitizers exhibiting in vivo hepatoprotective activity

Serious hepatic and cardiovascular complications after treatment with the thiazolidinedione (TZD) class of insulin sensitizers have significantly retarded the advancement of new TZD-based peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor agonists that bind with high affinity and selectivity. The aim of the present study is to design new antihyperglycemic agents that promote insulin sensitivity through partial adipogenesis as well as demonstrate beneficial hepatoprotective activity. The results indicated that among forty screened compounds, three of the novel pyranones at a dose of 10 μM increased the preadipocyte differentiation into adipocytes in 3T3-L1 cell lines. They showed an insulin-sensitizing effect by significantly increasing the glucose uptake and exhibited insulin resistance reversal. These compounds at a dose of 20 mg kg−1 significantly protected against thioacetamide-induced hepatotoxic changes in the serum biochemistry as compared to standard hepatoprotectant silymarin and also ameliorated the histopathological alterations in the liver tissues after acute liver injury in Swiss mice.