Synthesis and cytotoxicity of some rigid derivatives of methyl 2,5-dihydroxycinnamate

Synthesis of β-Arylbutenolides Mediated by BF3·OMe2

The reaction of phenols or aryl ethers with tetronic acid mediated by BF3·OMe2 was investigated. This strategy allowed for the preparation of β-(hydroxyaryl)butenolides and β-arylbutenolides in a single step in a simpler way than previously reported synthetic methods

Cytotoxic 2',5'-dihydroxychalcones with unexpected antiangiogenic activity

A series of 2',5'-dihydroxychalcones were synthesized and evaluated for cytotoxicity against tumor cell lines and human umbilical venous endothelial cells (HUVEC). It was found that chalcones with electron-withdrawing substituents on the B ring exhibited potent cytotoxicity against a variety of tumor cell lines while compounds with electron-releasing groups were less potent in general. Those compounds with B ring replaced by extended or heteroaromatic rings exhibited significant bioactivity. Several compounds were shown to have marked cytotoxic selectivity towards HUVECs. Especially, among the synthesized compounds, 2-chloro-2',5'-dihydroxychalcone (2-3) showed the highest selectivity index up to 66 in comparison to HCT116 cells. This compound also exhibited strong inhibitory effects on the HUVEC tube formation in an in vitro model. When administered into BDF1 mice bearing Lewis lung carcinoma cells at 50 mg kg(-1) day(-1), 2-3 was found to inhibit the growth of tumor mass by 60.5%.

Synthesis, cytotoxicity and antitumor activity of 2,3-diarylcyclopent-2-ene-1-ones

Two series of 2,3-diarylcyclopent-2-ene-1-ones including 2-aryl-3-(2,5-dihydroxyphenyl)cyclopent-2-ene-1-ones (2a-2f) and 3-aryl-2-3',4',5'-trimethoxyphenyl)cyclopent-2-ene-1-one (3a-3j) were synthesized and evaluated for the cytotoxicity against three tumor cell lines; B16F10, HCT116 and A431. It was found that the 3,4,5-trimethoxy substituent was optimal for the bioactivity of compounds in series 2. Meanwhile, compounds in series 3 exhibited the most potent cytotoxicity with 3-aryl ring being 4-methoxyphenyl (compound 3f), (3-hydroxy-4-methoxy)phenyl (compound 3e), or (3-amino-4-methoxy)phenyl (compound 3j).