Eugenol derivatives: synthesis, characterization, and evaluation of antibacterial and antioxidant activities

Eugenol is the major component of clove essential oil and has demonstrated relevant biological potential with well-known antimicrobial and antioxidant action. Therefore, this work carried out the synthesis, purification, characterization, and evaluation of the antioxidant and antibacterial potential of 19 eugenol derivatives. The derivatives were produced by esterification reactions in the hydroxyl group (−OH) of eugenol with different carboxylic acids and also by addition reactions in the double bond of the allyl group. The derivatives had a promising antibacterial potential, including a lower minimum inhibitory concentration of 500 μg/mL than eugenol (1000 μg/mL). In addition, the derivatives were active against bacterial strains (Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus) that eugenol itself showed no activity, thus increasing the spectrum of antibacterial action. As for the antioxidant activity, it was observed that the derivatives that involved esterification reactions in the hydroxyl group (−OH) of the eugenol molecule’s phenol resulted in a significant reduction of the antioxidant action (IC(50) > 100 μg/mL) when compared with the eugenol precursor molecule (IC(50) = 4.38 μg/mL). On the other hand, the structural changes located in the double bond affected much more smoothly the capacity of capturing radicals than the starting molecule, also being obtained derivatives with proximal antioxidant capacity (IC(50) = 19.30 μg/mL) to commercial standards such as Trolox (IC(50) = 16.00 μg/mL). ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1186/s13065-018-0407-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.