Synthesis and antioxidant activity of some 1-aryl/aralkyl piperazine derivatives with xanthine moiety at N4.

Piperazine nucleus is one of the most important heterocyclic systems exhibiting remarkable pharmacological activities. Thus, in the current study six new aryl/aralkyl substituted piperazine derivatives, containing methylxanthine moiety were synthesized and their structures were confirmed by IR and 1H NMR analysis. All compounds were in vitro screened for their activity as antioxidants using DPPH (2,2'-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl), ABTS (2,2'-azinobis-(3-ethylbenzo thiazine-6-sulfonic acid)) and FRAP (ferric reducing/antioxidant power) methods. The antioxidant activity of the studied compounds against lipid peroxidation was also measured. The highest antioxidant activity was demonstrated by compound 3c. It is obvious that the presence of a hydroxyl group in the structure is essential for the antioxidant properties and should be taken into consideration in further design of structures with potential antioxidant properties.