Biological activity, pH dependent redox behavior and UV–Vis spectroscopic studies of naphthalene derivatives

•The antioxidant and anti-diabetic activities of two naphthalenes, NDA and DMN were determined.•The cytotoxicity results evidenced DMN to significantly inhibit the cell proliferation.•Biological antioxidant studies revealed NDA as stronger antioxidant than DMN.•Electrochemical supported the biological antioxidant studies.•The spectroscopic results supported the pH dependent and independent nature of NDA and DMN.

Two naphthalene derivatives, naphthalene-2,3-dicarboxylic acid (NDA) and 1,8-dimethoxynaphthalene (DMN) were screened for antioxidant and anti-diabetic activities. Biological antioxidant studies revealed NDA as more effective antioxidant as compared to DMN. Both compounds significantly increased the cholesterol level but showed varied biological activities as regards glucose and triglyceride concentrations. The cytotoxicity results evidenced DMN to significantly inhibit the cell proliferation in a dose dependent manner with IC50 of 0.13 mM. Like the biological antioxidant studies, the electrochemical results also witnessed NDA as stronger antioxidant than DMN. The pH dependent spectrophotometric and electrochemical behavior was investigated in order to provide useful mechanistic insights about the biological role of the selected compounds.

Graphical abstractThe redox (A) and UV–Vis spectroscopic behavior (B) of naphthalene-2,3-dicarboxylic acid (NDA) is pH dependent. The two electrons donating ability of NDA suggests its preferred antioxidant candidature as compared to the standard antioxidant, ascorbic acid.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide