4, 5-Dihydrooxazole-pyrazoline hybrids: Synthesis and their evaluation as potential antimalarial agents.

A new series of oxazoline-pyrazoline hybrids (4a-p) were synthesized by condensation reaction of substituted oxazoline based chalcones (3a-m) and substituted hydrazines in methanol. Some of the compounds exhibited promising in vitro antimalarial activity for chloroquine sensitive CQ(S) (3D7) strain and chloroquine resistant CQ(R) (RKL9) strain. The most potent analogue 4i (IC50 0.322 μg/ml) exhibited significant in vivo antimalarial potential against Plasmodium berghei mouse model. The stable complex of 4i with hematin (1:1 stoichiometry) suggests that heme may be one possible target for these hybrid compounds. The study has revealed potential of title compounds as lead for the development of antimalarial agents.