5-Nitro-2-furoic acid hydrazones: design, synthesis and in vitro antimycobacterial evaluation against log and starved phase cultures.

Various 5-nitro-2-furoic acid hydrazones were synthesized and evaluated for in vitro activities against log and starved phase culture of two mycobacterial species and Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) isocitrate lyase (ICL) enzyme inhibition studies. Among twenty one compounds, 5-nitro-N'-[(5-nitro-2-furyl)methylidene]-2-furohydrazide (4o) was found to be the most active compound in vitro with MICs of 2.65 and 10.64 microM against log- and starved-phase culture of MTB. Compound 4o also showed good enzyme inhibition of MTB ICL at 10 microM. The docking studies also confirmed the binding potential of the compounds at the ICL active site.