Synthesis and evaluation of new phenolic derivatives as antimicrobial and antioxidant agents

New phenolic derivatives bearing hydrazine and 1,3,4-oxadiazole moieties were synthesized and evaluated for their in vitro antimicrobial and antioxidant activities. Most of the compounds revealed pronounced activity against Pseudomonas aeruginosa as well as promising antioxidant activities. N¹-(2,5-Dihydroxybenzoyl)-N²-(4-methylphenylsulfonyl)hydrazine displayed promising activity against Escherichia coli and P. aeruginosa. N¹-(2,5-Dihydroxybenzoyl)-N²-(2-naphthalenylmethylene)hydrazine was almost equipotent to the standard antioxidant vitamin C having scavenging activities of 84 and 93%, respectively. In vitro cytotoxicity study revealed that N¹-(2,5-dihydroxybenzoyl)-N²-(2,3,4-trimethoxyphenylmethylene)hydrazine, N¹-(2,5-dihydroxybenzoyl)-N²-(3,4,5-trimethoxyphenylmethylene)hydrazine, and N¹-(2,5-dihydroxybenzoyl)-N²-(4-methylphenylsulfonyl)hydrazine are more safe than reference 5-fluorouracil. In silico drug relevant properties proposed that all compounds have high to moderate drug-likeness scores. Accordingly, these derivatives can be potential leads for development of potent antimicrobial and antioxidant agents. Graphical abstract: .