“Unveiling the anti-inflammatory potential of coumarin-based Schiff base derivatives through structural characterization and in vitro and in vivo biological evaluation”

BACKGROUND: Chronic inflammation contributes to several diseases, creating a need for effective anti-inflammatory agents. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to synthesize, characterize, and evaluate coumarin-based Schiff base derivatives for anti-inflammatory activity. METHODS: activity using carrageenan-induced paw edema in Wistar rats. Molecular docking was performed against COX-2 protein structures, and drug-likeness and ADME properties were predicted using SwissADME. RESULTS: activity, producing 82.65% and 73.46% inhibition of protein denaturation, respectively, at 250 µg/mL. At 200 mg/kg, SB-5 and SB-6 produced 46.02% and 41.29% inhibition of paw edemarespectively, whereas diclofenac sodium produced 66.90% inhibition at the dose evaluated. Both compounds were well tolerated in the acute toxicity study. Molecular docking indicated favorable interactions with COX-2 targets. SwissADME analysis showed compliance with Lipinski and Veber criteria and favorable gastrointestinal absorption and pharmacokinetic properties. CONCLUSION: SB-5 and SB-6 demonstrated promising preliminary anti-inflammatory activity and warrant further target-specific, pharmacological, pharmacokinetic, and toxicity studies to validate their potential for drug development.