Steroid-based hydrazones as anabolic agents: Design, synthesis, computational studies, and biological evaluation in human skeletal muscle cell line

Abstract

Hydrazone derivatives were synthesized in a three-step process starting from diosgenin and then tested for their anabolic activity. Through in silico analysis, we identified proteins associated with muscle growth to elucidate the plausible mechanisms and interactions between these compounds and the active site amino acids, thereby providing a rationale for the observed biological results. The results of the in vitro assay on the human skeletal muscle cell line showed an increase in the number of viable cells, which was determined using increasing concentrations of each compound through the XTT assay. Additionally, the increase in protein concentration was measured using the Bradford method. The experimental evaluation revealed that all compounds have differences in increased protein/cell percentage compared to the control and testosterone, which suggests a hyperplastic/hypertrophic effect with a normal morphology.