Assessing β-carboline analogues as antibiotic agent using in vitro studies

The mortality rate caused by bacterial diseases and bacterial antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a significant concern in global public health. There is an urgent demand for new therapeutic agents that not only offer improved efficiency but also entail fewer secondary effects, addressing the challenges posed by the currently available drugs used in clinical practice. In this study, 40 analogues of β-carboline were subjected to solubility tests to determine their solubility. Among them, 22 analogues proved to be soluble and were subsequently tested for in vitro antibacterial activity using the agar disc diffusion method against S. aureus and E. coli to evaluate their effectiveness. The results of the in vitro antibacterial studies revealed that compounds 1h, 7d, and 1l displayed appreciable growth-inhibitory effects against E. coli, while compounds 1a, 1f, 1l, and 1j exhibited appreciable growth-inhibitory effects against S. aureus. Notably, compounds 1j and 1l displayed the highest growth-inhibitory potency against S. aureus and E. coli, respectively, out of the 22 compounds tested. Of all the analogues examined, 1l and 1j demonstrated the most substantial growth-inhibitory effects against E. coli and S. aureus, respectively, underscoring their potential as inhibitors.