Novel cinnamic acid magnolol derivatives as potent α-glucosidase and α-amylase inhibitors: Synthesis, in vitro and in silico studies

In this study, twenty novel cinnamic acid magnolol derivatives were synthesized, and screened for their anti-hyperglycemic potential. All synthesized compounds exhibited good to moderate α-glucosidase and α-amylase inhibitory activities with IC 50 values: 5.11 ± 1.46–90.26 ± 1.85 µM and 4.27 ± 1.51–49.28 ± 2.54 µM as compared to the standard acarbose (IC 50 : 255.44 ± 1.89 μM and 80.33 ± 2.95 μM, respectively). Compound 6j showed the strongest inhibitory activity against α-glucosidase (IC 50  = 5.11 ± 1.46 µM) and α-amylase (IC 50  = 4.27 ± 1.51 µM). Kinetic study indicated that compound 6j was reversible and a mixed type inhibitor against α-glucosidase and α-amylase. In silico studies revealed the binding interaction between 6j and two enzymes, respectively. Finally, cells cytotoxicity assay revealed that compound 6j showed low toxicity against 3 T3-L1 cells and HepG2 cells.