Design, synthesis, and anticonvulsant screening of some substituted piperazine and aniline derivatives of 5-phenyl-oxazolidin-2,4-diones and 5,5-diphenylimidazolidin-2,4 diones

Substituted piperazine and aniline derivatives of oxazolidin-2,4-diones and imidazolidin-2,4-diones were synthesized by N3 alkylation and screened for their anticonvulsant activity by the maximal electroshock (MES) test, and their neurotoxicity was evaluated by the rotarod test. Among all the synthesized derivatives, compounds 4b, 6c, 6d, 10b, 11a, 11b, and 11d were found to exhibit maximum seizure protection in MES test and were devoid of any neurotoxic effects. Furthermore, the functional activity of these compounds were evaluated in vivo for 5-HT1A receptor affinity by using rectal body temperature and lower lip retraction in rats, while head twitch response in mice was performed for the determination of probable affinity toward 5-HT2A receptor. The results of these tests demonstrated that compounds 4b, 6c, 6d, 10b, 11a, 11b, and 11d exhibited 5-HT1A (pre- and postsynaptic) agonist/antagonist features whereas compounds 11a and 11b exhibited antagonist action for 5-HT2A receptor. From the in vivo studies it was observed that a majority of aniline derivatives (6c, 6d, 11a, 11b, 11d) were found to be more active as compared to their bulky piperazine congeners (4b, 10b). Thus, the overall reduction in the bulkiness of the derivatives without compromising the lipophilicity is well appreciated for providing insights into the structural requirements necessary for development of new effective molecules having anticonvulsant effect.