A study on the anti-inflammatory effects of new derivatives of 3-hydroxy pyridine-4-one

BACKGROUND: Derivatives of pyridine-4-one act as iron chelators and possess various pharmacological effects such as antifungal, antimalarial, antiviral, anti-inflammatory, and analgesic effects. The aim of our study was to evaluate the anti-inflammatory effects of the three new derivatives of pyridine-4-one. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Carrageenan-induced paw edema in rats and croton oil-induced ear edema in mice were used to evaluate the anti-inflammatry effects of three 3-hydroxy-pyridine-4-one derivatives (compounds A, B, and C). Compound A (10, 20 mg/kg), compound B (200, 400 mg/kg), and compound C (100, 200 mg/kg), vehicle (1 mL/kg), and indomethacin as standard drug (10 mg/kg) were injected intraperitoneally 30 min prior to carrageenan injection and 4 h later, the paw volume was measured using a mercury plethysmograph. The maximum dose of each test compound was used in the croton oil-induced ear edema test. RESULTS: All compounds showed significant anti-inflammatory activity in both tests. On a molar basis, compound A had the greatest potency, which may be due to the presence of a benzyl group substitution on the pyridine ring. CONCLUSIONS: Because cyclooxygenase and lipoxygenase as key enzymes of the inflammation pathway are heme-dependent, it seems that the anti-inflammatory effect of derivatives of pyridine-4-one may be related to their iron chelating properties. However, more investigations are needed to find out their exact mechanism of actions.