Synthesis, molecular docking, and pharmacological evaluation of N-(2-(3,5-dimethoxyphenyl)benzoxazole-5-yl)benzamide derivatives as selective COX-2 inhibitors and anti-inflammatory agents.

A series of N-(2-(3,5-dimethoxyphenyl)benzoxazole-5-yl)benzamide derivatives (3am) was synthesized and evaluated for their in vitro inhibitory activity against COX-1 and COX-2. The compounds with considerable in vitro activity (IC50  < 1 μM) were evaluated in vivo for their anti-inflammatory potential by the carrageenan-induced rat paw edema method. Out of 13 newly synthesized compounds, 3a, 3b, 3d, 3g, 3j, and 3k were found to be the most potent COX-2 inhibitors in the in vitro enzymatic assay, with IC50 values in the range of 0.06-0.71 μM. The in vivo anti-inflammatory activity of these six compounds (3a, 3b, 3d, 3g, 3j, and 3k) was assessed by the carrageenan-induced rat paw edema method. Compounds 3d (84.09%), 3g (79.54%), and 3a (70.45%) demonstrated significant anti-inflammatory activity compared to the standard drug ibuprofen (65.90%) and were also found to be safer than ibuprofen, by ulcerogenic studies. A docking study was done using the crystal structure of human COX-2, to understand the binding mechanism of these inhibitors to the active site of COX-2.