Exploration of synthetic antioxidant flavonoid analogs as acetylcholinesterase inhibitors: an approach towards finding their quantitative structure–activity relationship

The binding interactions between acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and a series of antioxidant flavonoid analogs were studied by fluorescence spectroscopic assay. The present study incorporated different classes of naturally occurring and synthetic flavonoid compounds like flavones, isoflavones, and chalcones as well as a few standard antioxidants. The AChE inhibitory (AChEI) activity of these compounds was further analyzed using in silico techniques, namely pharmacophore mapping, quantitative structure–activity relationship (QSAR) analysis, and molecular docking studies. We have also compared the AChE inhibitory and radical scavenging antioxidant activities of these compounds. Both the AChE inhibitory and antioxidant activities of these compounds were found to be highly dependent on their structural patterns. However, it was observed that, in general, flavones are comparatively better AChE inhibitors as well as antioxidants compared to chalcones.