The research on new compounds against plant pathogens is still socially and economically important. It results from the increasing resistance of pests to plant protection products and the need to maintain high yields of crops, particularly oilseed crops used to manufacture edible and industrial oils and biofuels. We tested thirty-five semi-synthetic hydrazide-hydrazones with aromatic fragments of natural origin against phytopathogenic laccase-producing fungi such as Botrytis cinerea, Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, and Cerrena unicolor. Among the investigated molecules previously identified as potent laccase inhibitors were also strong antifungal agents against the fungal species tested. The highest antifungal activity showed derivatives of 4-hydroxybenzoic acid and salicylic aldehydes with 3-tert-butyl, phenyl, or isopropyl substituents. S. sclerotiorum appeared to be the most susceptible to the tested compounds, with the lowest IC50 values between 0.5 and 1.8 µg/mL. We applied two variants of phytotoxicity tests for representative crop seeds and selected hydrazide-hydrazones. Most tested molecules show no or low phytotoxic effect for flax and sunflower seeds. Moreover, a positive impact on seed germination infected with fungi was observed. With the potential for application, the cytotoxicity of the hydrazide-hydrazones of choice toward MCF-10A and BALB/3T3 cell lines was lower than that of the azoxystrobin fungicide tested.

Searches for new tuberculostatic agents are important considering the occurrence of drug-resistant strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The structures of three new potentially tuberculostatic compounds, namely isopropyl methyl (2-hydroxybenzoyl)carbonohydrazonodithioate, C12H16N2O2S2, (Z)-benzyl methyl (2-hydroxybenzoyl)carbonohydrazonodithioate, C16H16N2O2S2, and dibenzyl (2-hydroxybenzoyl)carbonohydrazonodithioate propan-2-ol monosolvate, C22H20N2O2S2·C3H8O, were determined by X-ray diffraction. The mutual orientation of the three main fragments of the compounds, namely an aromatic ring, a dithioester group and a hydrazide group, can influence the biological activity of the compounds. In all three of the structures studied, the C(=O)NH group is in the anti conformation. In addition, the presence of the hydroxy group in the ortho position of the aromatic ring in all three structures leads to the formation of an intramolecular hydrogen bond stabilizing the planarity of the molecules.

The title compound, C15H14N2O3, crystallizes with two independent mol-ecules (A and B) in the asymmetric unit that differ in the orientation of the 3-meth-oxy-phenyl group with respect to the methyl-idenebenzohydrazide unit. The dihedral angles between the two benzene rings are 24.02 (10) and 29.30 (9)° in mol-ecules A and B, respectively. In mol-ecule A, the meth-oxy group is twisted slightly relative to its bound benzene ring, with a Cmeth-yl-O-C-C torsion angle of 14.2 (3)°, whereas it is almost co-planar in mol-ecule B, where the corresponding angle is -2.4 (3)°. In the crystal, the mol-ecules are linked by N-H⋯O, O-H⋯N and O-H⋯O hydrogen bonds, as well as by weak C-H⋯O inter-actions, forming sheets parallel to the bc plane. The N-H⋯O hydrogen bond and weak C-H⋯O inter-action link different mol-ecules (A⋯B) whereas both O-H⋯N and O-H⋯O hydrogen bonds link like mol-ecules (A⋯A) and (B⋯B). Pairs of inversion-related B mol-ecules are stacked approximately along the a axis by π-π inter-actions in which the distance between the centroids of the 3-meth-oxy-phenyl rings is 3.5388 (12) Å. The B mol-ecules also participate in weak C-H⋯π inter-actions between the 4-hy-droxy-phenyl and the 3-meth-oxy-phenyl rings.

Cell surface molecule CD44 plays a major role in regulation of cancer stem cells CSCs on both phenotypic and functional level, however chemical inhibition approach of CD44 to targets CSCs is poorly studied. Herein, we report the discovery of certain N\'-(2-oxoindolin-3-ylidene)-2-(benzyloxy)benzohydrazides as a novel inhibitor of CD44. Molecular docking study showed interference of the scaffold of these compounds with β-catenin/TCF-4 complex, building a direct relationship between CD44 inhibition and observed well-fitted binding domain. Compound 11a, most potent member elicits inhibition effect on TCF/LEF reporter activity conformed the involvement of Wnt pathway inhibition as a mechanism of action. Furthermore, the treatment by the mentioned compound leads to inhibition of embryonic transcriptional factor Nanog but not Sox2 or Oct-4 suggested specific targeted effect. Moreover, the cytotoxicity and cell cycle effect of this series seems to be dependent on CD44 expression.

The emergence of drug-resistant strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis has intensified efforts to identify new lead tuberculostatics. Our earlier studies concluded that the planarity of a molecule correlates well with its tuberculostatic activity. According to our hypothesis, only derivatives whose molecules are capable of adopting a planar conformation may show tuberculostatic activity. The structures of three new potentially tuberculostatic compounds, namely N\'-[bis(methylsulfanyl)methylidene]-N-methyl-4-nitrobenzohydrazide (denoted G1), C11H13N3O3S2, N\'-[bis(benzylsulfanyl)methylidene]-N-methyl-4-nitrobenzohydrazide (denoted G2), C23H21N3O3S2, and N\'-[(benzylsulfanyl)(methylsulfanyl)methylidene]-4-nitrobenzohydrazide (denoted G3), C16H15N3O3S2, were determined by X-ray diffraction. The significant distortion from planarity caused by the methyl substituent at the N atom of the hydrazide group or the NO2 substituent in the aromatic ring leads to the loss of tuberculostatic activity for G1, G2 and G4 {systematic name: N\'-[bis(methylsulfanyl)methylidene]-2-nitrobenzohydrazide}. A similar effect is observed when there are large substituents at the S atoms (G2 and G3).

UNASSIGNED: New dimethyl benzoylcarbonohydrazonodithioates were obtained by CS2 addition to arylcarboxylic acid hydrazides and methylation of the formed adduct. The new derivatives were tested for their activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Some compounds exhibited high activity toward sensitive and resistant strains.
UNASSIGNED: