Synthesis, biological evaluation, and docking studies of 3-(substituted)-aryl-5-(9-methyl-3-carbazole)-1H-2-pyrazolines as potent anti-inflammatory and antioxidant agents

A novel series of 3-(substituted)-aryl-5-(9-methyl-3-carbazole)-1H-2-pyrazolines (5a-o) has been synthesized and the structures of newly synthesized compounds were characterized by IR, (1)H NMR and mass spectral analysis. All the synthesized compounds were evaluated for their in vitro and in vivo anti-inflammatory activity, and also for their antioxidant activity. Compounds 5b, 5c, 5d and 5n were found to be selective COX-2 inhibitors. Compound 5c was found to potent inhibitor of the carrageenin induced paw edema in rats. Most of the compounds exhibited good DPPH and superoxide radical scavenging activity, while compounds 5c, 5d, 5i and 5k exhibited good hydroxyl radical scavenging activity. Molecular docking result, along with the biological assay data, suggested that compound 5c was a potential anti-inflammatory agent.