In Vitro Antioxidant Activity of Memantine Derivatives Containing Amino Acids

lzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common type of dementia in elderly. Since oxidative stress is an important feature of AD, it could be assumed that conjugation of the available medicines with substances having antioxidant properties may produce beneficial effect. The aim of this study was to investigate the antioxidant capacity of 7 analogs of memantine (MEM) with Gly, Ala, β-Ala, Val, Phe, Phe (4-F), and Gly-Gly. The antioxidant capacity of the MEM conjugates was tested in chemical systems generating superoxide anion (●O 2 – ) and hydroxyl (●OH) radicals, and by applying the DPPH test. The results showed a negligible effect of the substances on DPPH● reduction. Phe-MEM, (4-F)-Phe-MEM and Gly-Gly-MEM demonstrated ●O 2 – scavenging potential. The Phe-containing derivatives exerted protective effect on ●OH-induced deoxyribose degradation and had abilities for chelating iron ions. In conclusion, the investigated Phe-containing MEM derivatives manifested a good antioxidant activity, and a promising effect in AD treatment could be expected.