Design and development of 1,3,4-oxadiazole derivatives as potential inhibitors of acetylcholinesterase to ameliorate scopolamine-induced cognitive dysfunctions

[Display omitted] •4-AP tethered 1,3,4-oxadiazole derivatives were designed and synthesized.•Compound 9 elicited significant non-competitive type of hAChE inhibition.•Compound 9 showed significant brain permeability in PAMPA-BBB assay.•Compound 9 ameliorated scopolamine- induced cognitive impairment in mice models.•Biochemical analysis using brain homogenates suggested antioxidant activity by 9. The novel hybrids bearing 4-aminopyridine (4-AP) tethered with substituted 1,3,4-oxadiazole nucleus were designed, synthesized, and evaluated for their potential AChE inhibitory property along with significant antioxidant potential. The inhibitory potential (IC50) of synthesized analogs was evaluated against human cholinesterases (hAChE and hBChE) using Ellman’s method. Among all the compounds, 9 with 4-hydroxyl substituent showed maximum hAChE inhibition with the non-competitive type of enzyme inhibition (IC50 = 1.098 µM; Ki = 0.960 µM). Further, parallel artificial membrane permeation assay (PAMPA-BBB) showed significant BBB permeability in most of the synthesized compounds. Meanwhile, compound 9 also inhibited AChE-induced Aβ aggregation (38.2–65.9%) by thioflavin T assay. The in vivo behavioral studies showed dose-dependent improvement in learning and memory by compound 9. The ex vivo studies also affirmed the significant AChE inhibition and antioxidant potential of compound 9 in brain homogenates.