A series of 7-hydroxy, 8-hydroxy and 7,8-dihydroxy synthetic chromone derivatives was evaluated for their DPPH free radical scavenging activities. A training set of 30 synthetic chromone derivatives was subject to three-dimensional quantitative structure-activity relationship (3D-QSAR) studies using molecular field analysis (MFA). The substitutional requirements for favorable antioxidant activity were investigated and a predictive model that could be used for the design of novel antioxidants was derived. Regression analysis was carried out using genetic partial least squares (G/PLS) method. A highly predictive and statistically significant model was generated. The predictive ability of the developed model was assessed using a test set of 5 compounds (r(2) (pred) = 0.924). The analyzed MFA model demonstrated a good fit, having r(2) value of 0.868 and cross-validated coefficient r(2) (cv) value of 0.771.
Keywords: 3D-QSAR; Antioxidants; Chromone; Genetic partial least squares (G/PLS) method; Molecular field analysis (MFA).