Antibacterial activity of two pregnenolone-derivatives against Vibrio cholerae and Escherichia coli and its relationship with descriptors LogP, Π

Abstract

In this work the antibacterial activity of two pregnenolone-derivatives was evaluated on V. cholerae and E. coli, using a NCCLS broth dilution modified method. Additionally, to delineate the structural chemical requirements of the steroid derivatives as antibacterial agents on E. coli and V. cholerae, other parameters such as the physicochemical descriptors LogP and π were calculated. The results obtained indicate that bacterial growth of E. coli and V. cholerae was inhibited with pregnenolone-vitamin B1 (MIC = 6.64. x 10^-4 mmol/mL) and pregnenolone-carbamazepine (MIC = 3.18 x 10^-4 mmol/mL). Other results showed an increase in LogP and π values in the carbamazepine-pregnenolone conjugate with respect to pregnenolone-vitamin B1. These results suggest that antibacterial activity of two pregnenoloneconjugates can depend of the nature of functional groups involved in their chemical structure that seems to be the key required for their antibacterial activity.