Substituted Urea Derivatives: A Potent Class of Antidepressant Agents

Title:Substituted Urea Derivatives: A Potent Class of Antidepressant Agents

Volume: 8 Issue: 3

Author(s): Shahnaz Perveen, Sana Mustafa, Muhammad A. Khan, Ahsana Dar, Khalid M. Khan and Wolfgang Voelter

Affiliation:

Keywords: Amines, Antidepressant, Disubstituted urea derivatives, Isocyanate, Symmetrical urea, Tail suspension test (TST), carbamates, lipoproteinelevating, cholinergic agents

Abstract: A series of fourteen (14) N-nitrophenyl-N'-(alkyl/aryl)urea and symmetrical 1,3-disubstituted urea derivatives were synthesized and evaluated for their antidepressant activity in mice. Among them, N-(4-nitrophenyl)-N'-(1'-phenylethyl)urea (1), demonstrated profound antidepressant property as reflected by significant reduction in the immobility time (89.83%), whereas compounds 2-6 showed activity values between 36 to 59% which were also larger than the standard phenelzine. Compounds 7-9 were less effective in reducing the immobility period of mice 26.20 to 31.01%). This variable magnitude of antidepressant activity appears to be related to the position of the nitro group to the parent molecules 1, 2, and 8. Compound 1 with the nitro group at para position showed to be the most effective antidepressant. However, the activity declined, if the nitro is attached to ortho and meta positions.

Cite this article as:

Perveen Shahnaz, Mustafa Sana, A. Khan Muhammad, Dar Ahsana, M. Khan Khalid and Voelter Wolfgang, Substituted Urea Derivatives: A Potent Class of Antidepressant Agents, Medicinal Chemistry 2012; 8 (3) . https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/157340612800786615