Computational and experimental validation of antioxidant properties of synthesized bioactive ferulic acid derivatives

Ferulic acid, a well-known natural phenolic compound, is considerably reportedfor its hydroxyl and peroxyl radical scavenging activities. However, the antiox-idant capacity of ferulic acid is limited by its relatively low solubility in hydro-phobic media thereby preventing its application for autoxidation of fats and oils.To this end, several research efforts are being made to maximize the therapeuticbenefits of ferulic acid and these efforts included but not limited to structuralmodification of ferulic acid to produce its derivatives. In this study, we synthe-sized ester and amide derivatives of ferulic acid and evaluated them forin vitroantioxidant potential as well as molecular docking properties. Data revealed thatferulic ester and amide derivatives had excellent antioxidant capacity anddemonstrated strong inhibitory potential. Analysis of molecular docking indi-cated ferulic ester as potent inhibitor of target proteins in breast cancer as well asin oxidative stress. Taken together, the findings support potent antioxidantproperties by these ferulic derivatives. Findings may become relevant wherestructural modification to enhance physico-chemical properties without com-promising the antioxidant and/or medicinal potential are desirabl