Biological activity, pH dependent redox behavior and UV–Vis spectroscopic studies of naphthalene derivatives

Two naphthalene derivatives, naphthalene-2,3-dicarboxylic acid (NDA) and 1,8-dimethoxynaphthalene (DMN) were screened for antioxidant and anti-diabetic activities. Biological antioxidant studies revealed NDA as more effective antioxidant as compared to DMN. Both compounds significantly increased the cholesterol level but showed varied biological activities as regards glucose and triglyceride concentrations. The cytotoxicity results evidenced DMN to significantly inhibit the cell proliferation in a dose dependent manner with IC50 of 0.13 mM. Like the biological antioxidant studies, the electrochemical results also witnessed NDA as stronger antioxidant than DMN. The pH dependent spectrophotometric and electrochemical behavior was investigated in order to provide useful mechanistic insights about the biological role of the selected compounds.