IMIDAZOLE DERIVATIVES

Cardiovascular disorders, particularly hypertension, continue to pose major health challenges worldwide, necessitating the search for new therapeutic agents with improved efficacy and safety. Imidazole-based compounds have gained attention due to their diverse pharmacological profiles, including notable antibacterial, antifungal and antihypertensive properties. This study employed a computational screening approach to evaluate selected imidazole derivatives for potential antihypertensive activity, followed by the synthesis of a lead derivative (2,4,5-triphenyl-1H-imidazole). Molecular docking was conducted using PyRx (AutoDock Vina) to predict binding affinities and interaction profiles with key hypertension-related protein targets1O86, 4ZUD, 5XPR and 6L88). Several screened derivatives demonstrated strong binding affinities comparable to or higher than the reference drug, suggesting potential inhibitory activity through similar interaction mechanisms at the active site residues. In particular, 2,4,5-triphenyl-1H-imidazole, 1-benzoyl- 4,5-diphenyl-1H-imidazole, and 2-(2-methoxyphenyl)-4,5 diphenyl-1H-imidazole showed the most favorable binding energies and stable protein–ligand interactions across all target proteins. ADMET profiling further indicated acceptable pharmacokinetic behavior for these candidates. The synthesized 2,4,5-triphenyl-1H-imidazole was obtained in a yield of 81.28% and was subjected to preliminary characterization, exhibiting a melting point of 269–272 °C.. The findings highlight promising imidazole structural features with potential antihypertensive relevance and support further synthesis, and biological evaluation of these compounds to advance drug development in hypertension management.

Heterocyclic compounds are very widely distributed in nature and very abundant in plant and animal products. They are included in many biochemical materials essential for life like nucleic acids (nucleotides), sugars and their derivatives, vitamin C and also, most members of vitamin B group (vitamin B6- pyridoxine). They are also found in application of diverse field such as agriculture, pharmaceutical and manufacturing industries. Researches have shown that heterocyclic nuclei give high chemotherapeutic values such as anti-malaria, anti-diabetics, anticancer and also act as a remedy for the development of novel drugs. Imidazole containing moiety occupied a unique position in organic compounds. It is a five-membered nitrogenous heterocyclic moiety that has three carbons, two nitrogens, four hydrogen atoms, and two double bonds having general molecular formula of C3H4N2. It is also known as 1,3-diazole because of the nitrogen atoms present at the first and third positions (non–adjacent position) of the ring, one nitrogen bear a hydrogen atom as the pyridine structure, and the other is called pyrrole type nitrogen
and position four and five are equivalent. It formed the basis of many therapeutic natural products such as histamine, purine, histidine among others