Synthesis and Anticonvulsant Screening of Some Potentially Active Oximes

doi.org/10.26538/tjnpr/v4i4.3

Abstract

Neurological disorders such as epilepsy remain a major concern to public health despite considerable efforts aimed at developing effective medicine. This work reports the synthesis and anticonvulsant screening of four oximes; (E)-N-hydroxy-1-phenylmethanimine (EHPM), (Z)-N- hydroxy-1-phenylmethanimine (ZHPM), (1E,2E)-N,NI-dihydroxy-1,2-diphenylathane-1,2- diimine (EEDDP-E) and (1E,2E)-N,NI-dihydroxy-1,2-diphenylethane-1,2-diimine (ZEDDPE). The compounds were synthesized from the reaction between various carbonyl compounds and hydroxylamine using Beckmann rearrangement reaction. The structures of the synthesized
compounds were established using Ultraviolet (UV), Infrared (IR), Proton and Carbon-13 nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. The compounds were screened for anticonvulsant activity using maximal electroshock (MES) test in chicks and subcutaneous pentylenetetrazole (scPTZ) seizure test in mice. The neurotoxicity of the compounds was investigated using beam walking assay in mice. In maximal electroshock seizure (MES), model suggests that they may be beneficial in absence and complex partial seizures. The moderate activity of EHPM against maximal electroshock is suggestive of potential in generalized tonic- clonic seizure. All the synthesized oximes were found not to produced significant motor coordination deficit at the doses tested indicating that they are not neurotoxic and are therefore recommended for further screening and optimization.