Synthesis and biological evaluation of some new 2-pyrazolines bearing benzene sulfonamide moiety as potential anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer agents

Eight novel 2-pyrazolines (2a–h) were synthesized by the reaction of appropriate chalcones/flavanones with 4-hydrazinonbenzenesulfonamide hydrochloride and tested for anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer activities. Two compounds 2c and 2e showed good anti-inflammatory activity which is comparable to the reference drug celecoxib in carrageenan-induced rat paw edema bioassay and found safe from the point of view of ulcer induction. Compounds 2c and 2e showed very mild inhibition against the enzymatic activity of ovine COX-1 and COX-2 (in vitro). The compounds 2c and 2f exhibited considerable antitumor activity against tested 60 human tumor cell lines. Specifically, compound 2f exhibited promising anti-proliferative activity with GI50 values less than 2 μM particularly against MOLT-4 (1.94), SR (1.28) in leukemia cancer, EKVX (1.88) in non small cell lung cancer, COLO 205 (1.69) in colon cancer.

Graphical abstractEight novel 1,3,5-trisubstituted pyrazolines (2a–h) were synthesized and evaluated for their anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer activities.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slideHighlights► Among all newly synthesized compounds, 2c and 2e showed potent anti-inflammatory activity, comparable to the reference drug. ► Compounds 2c and 2e found safe from the point of view of ulcer induction. ► Compounds 2c and 2e showed very mild inhibition against the enzymatic activity of COX-1 and COX-2. ► Compounds 2c and 2f exhibited considerable antitumor activities against the entire tested tumor cell lines. ► Compound 2f showed promising anti-proliferative activity with GI50 less than 2 μM against some human cancer cell lines.