Cytotoxic arylbenzofuran and stilbene derivatives from the twigs of Artocarpus heterophyllus

Four new natural products, including three arylbenzofurans named heterophyllenes A-C (1–3), and one stilbene named heterophyllene D (4), together with twenty-one known compounds were isolated from the twigs of Artocarpus heterophyllus and their structures elucidated by spectroscopic methods, mainly 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopy. The cytotoxic activity of selected compounds against KB, MCF-7 and NCI-H187 cell lines was evaluated. Heterophyllene C (3) exhibited cytotoxicity against the MCF-7 cell line with an IC₅₀ value of 12.56 μM. Additionally, the known compounds norartocarpin and artocarpin showed cytotoxic activity against MCF-7 and KB cell lines with IC₅₀ values of 10.04 and 13.57 μM, respectively. Both compounds also displayed cytotoxicity against the NCI-H187 cell line with values of 14.78 and 14.21 μM, respectively.     

Cytotoxic Podophyllotoxin Type-Lignans from the Steam Bark of <em>Bursera fagaroides </em>var. <em>fagaroides</em>

The hydroalcoholic extract of the steam bark of B. fagaroides var. fagaroides displayed potent cytotoxic activity against four cancer cell lines, namely KB (ED₅₀ = 9.6 × 10^-2 μg/mL), PC-3 (ED₅₀ = 2.5 × 10^-1 μg/mL), MCF-7 (ED₅₀ = 6.6 μg/mL), and HF-6 (ED₅₀ = 7.1 × 10^-3 μg/mL). This extract also showed anti-tumour activity when assayed on mice inoculated with L5178Y lymphoma cells. Bioactivity-directed isolation of this extract, afforded seven podophyllotoxin-type lignans identified as podophyllotoxin (1), β-peltatin-A-methylether (2), 5'-desmethoxy-β-peltatin-A-methylether (3), desmethoxy-yatein (4), desoxypodophyllotoxin (5), burseranin (6), and acetyl podophyllotoxin (7) by 1D and 2DNMR and FAB-MS analyses, and comparison with reported values. All the isolated compounds showed potent cytotoxic activity in the cell lines tested, especially compound 3, which exhibited greater activity than camptothecin and podophyllotoxin against PC-3 (ED₅₀ = 1.0 × 10^-5 μg/mL), and KB (ED₅₀ = 1.0 × 10^-5 μg/mL). This is the first report of the isolation of podophyllotoxin and its acetate in a Bursera species.     

Synthesis of bengamide E analogues and their cytotoxic activity

A series of bengamide E analogues were prepared from the corresponding polyketide chain and amino acids via amide coupling reactions. Opening of the polyketide chain lactone ring with α-aminolactams was successfully achieved under microwave irradiation in the presence of sodium 2-ethyl hexanoate. A cytotoxic activity evaluation against a panel of cancer cell lines (KB, HepG-2, Lu-1, MCF-7, HL-60 and Hela) indicated that the 2′R analogues were generally more cytotoxic than the 2′S analogues. Additionally, several analogues exhibited selective inhibition against various cancer cell lines: compounds 32a and 32b selectively inhibited MCF-7 cells, while 33b and 35b were more sensitive toward Lu-1 and HepG-2, respectively. Notably, some of the synthetic analogues possess cytotoxic activities with IC₅₀ values less than 1 µM.     

Torrubiellutins A-C, from insect pathogenic fungus Torrubiella luteorostrata BCC 12904

Investigation of the insect pathogenic fungus Torrubiella luteorostrata led to the isolation of three new macrocyclic torrubiellutins A-C (1-3) and the known pyrone diterpene 4. Structures were elucidated by spectroscopic data including 1D, 2D NMR, and MS spectral data. The absolute stereochemistry was determined by chemical means using Mosher reactions and Marfey's reagent, together with NOESY spectral data. Torrubiellutin C showed biological activities against KB, MCF-7, NCI-H187, and Vero cell lines with IC₅₀ varying from 0.78 to 4.36 μg/mL, while compound 4 exhibited antimalaria and anti-inflammatory activity with IC₅₀ values of 3.49 and 1.21 μg/mL, respectively.     

Artemisinin-isatin hybrids with potential antiproliferative activity against breast cancer

Three series of artemisinin-isatin hybrids 8a-i, 10a-c and 11a-e were designed, synthesized and evaluated for their antiproliferative activity against breast cancer cells (MCF-7, MDA-MB-231 and doxorubicin-resistant MCF-7 (MCF-7/DOX)), as well as the cytotoxicity towards normal MCF-10A breast cells. The preliminary results showed that a significant part of the synthesized hybrids (IC₅₀: 20.7–99.9 µM) were active against both drug-sensitive and doxorubicin-resistant breast cancer cell lines. The structure–activity relationship illustrated that the linker between artemisinin and isatin moieties as well as the substituents on C-3 and C-5 position of isatin motif had great influence on the activity. In particular, hybrids 11c,d were found to be most active against all tested breast cancer cell lines, and their activity was not inferior to that of doxorubicin. Therefore, hybrids 11c,d could serve as useful templates for the development of novel anti-breast cancer agents.     

Polyketide anthraquinone,diphenyl ether,and xanthone derivatives from the soil fungus Penicillium sp. PSU-RSPG99

Three new polyketides including one new diphenyl ether, penicillither (1), one new anthraquinone, penicilliquinone (2), and one new xanthone, penicillixanthone (3), together with twelve known compounds were isolated from the soil fungus Penicillium sp. PSU-RSPG99. Their structures were identified by spectroscopic evidence. In addition, the position of a chlorine atom in 1 was confirmed by the plausible biosynthetic pathway from the isolated chlorobenzophenone. Known GKK1032B displayed mild antimycobacterial and moderate cytotoxic (against human oral carcinoma, KB, human breast cancer, MCF-7, and noncancerous Vero cell lines) activities.     

Synthesis,anticancer evaluation,and molecular modeling study of new 2-(phenylamino)pyrazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidine analogues

The reaction of 3-amino-5-phenylaminopyrazoles 2 with 3-(dimethylamino) acrylonitrile derivatives resulted in a series of substituted pyrazolopyrimidine analogues 4 and 6. The DFT studies of the isolated compounds showed that the frontier molecular orbitals energy gap was close and in the 2.65–2.81 eV range where the derivative 6b has the lowest and both of 4a and 4c have the highest values. Meanwhile, the anticancer activity of the newly synthesized pyrazolopyrimidine analogues have been tested against several different cell lines (MCF-7, PC3, Hep-2 and WI38). The investigated pyrazolopyrimidines showed remarkable cytotoxicity activity against the MCF-7 and Hep-2 cell lines. In comparison to the effects of 5-fluorouracil, IC₅₀ = 10.19 ± 0.42 and 7.19 ± 0.47, compounds 6a-c demonstrated potential anticancer activity with IC₅₀ values for MCF-7 (10.80 ± 0.36–19.84 ± 0.49 μM) and Hep-2 (8.85 ± 0.24–12.76 ± 0.16 μM). Important details regarding the protein's binding sites were disclosed when the produced analogues docked with the crystal structure of the KDM5A protein, which was located in the protein data library.     

Pleosporin A,an antimalarial cyclodepsipeptide from an elephant dung fungus (BCC 7069)

Cyclodepsipeptides SCH 217048 (1), SCH 218157 (2), and a new analog, pleosporin A (3), were isolated from cultures of an unidentified elephant dung fungus of the family Pleosporaceae. The structure of 3 was elucidated on the basis of detailed spectroscopic interpretation. The absolute configurations of 1–3 were determined by chiral column HPLC analysis and Marfey’s method. Cyclodepsipeptides 1–3 exhibited antimalarial activity against Plasmodium falciparum K1 with respective IC₅₀ values of 1.6, 6.4, and 1.6 μg/mL, while they did not show cytotoxicity against KB, MCF-7 and NCI-H187 cell-lines or non-cancerous Vero cells at 50 μg/mL.     

Novel efficient anticancer agents and DNA-intercalators of 1,2,3-triazol-1,8-naphthalimides: design, synthesis, and biological activity

Two novel series of 3-1,2,3-triazol-1,8-naphthalimides 5a-e, 7a-e were synthesized easily by employing ‘click reaction’. Their bioactivities were evaluated. Compounds 5a-e were found to be more toxic against MCF-7 cells while 7a-e were more potent against 7721 cells, in particular 7a, the IC₅₀ value of which against cell lines of MCF-7 and 7721 was 0.348 μM and 0.258 μM, respectively. Due to the phenyl group linked to 1,2,3-triazole, compound 5a not only showed higher DNA affinity but also more efficient DNA damaging ability than compound 7a.     

Antimalarial and antituberculosis substances from Streptomyces sp. BCC26924

Two new carbazomycin dimers (6 and 7) and 3-hydroxy-1,2-dimethyl-2,3-dihydro-1H-carbazol-4-one (9) together with six known compounds, carbazomycins A-D, cyclomarin C, and pimprinine have been isolated from Streptomyces sp. BCC26924. Carbazomycins B, C, and cyclomarin C exhibited antimalarial activity (against Plasmodium falciparum, K1 multi-drug resistant strain) with IC₅₀ in a range of 0.24-2.37 μg/mL. Cyclomarin C exhibited anti-TB activity with a minimum inhibitory concentration value of 0.10 μg/mL, while carbazomycin D, compound 7, and pimprinine displayed MIC values in a range of 12.5-25.0 μg/mL. In addition, compounds 2, 5, 6, and 7 showed weak cytotoxicity against cancerous (MCF-7, KB, NCI-H187) and non-cancerous (Vero) cells.     

Novel Spiro-pyrrolizidine-Oxindole and Spiropyrrolidine-Oxindoles: Green synthesis under Classical,Ultrasonic, and microwave conditions and Molecular docking simulation for antitumor and type 2 diabetes

Novel spiropyrrolizine / pyrrolidineoxindole moieties were synthesized chemo-, and regio-selectively in high yields from knoevenagel reaction of bis[arylmethylidene]piperidin-4-ones, isatin and L-proline or sarcosine under classical, ultrasonic, and microwave conditions. Seven derivatives of the synthesized dispiro-pyrrolizidine-oxindole and spiropyrrolidine were screened for their antitumor activity against two cell lines MCF-7 (breast cancer) and HEPG2 (liver cancer). The results of biological activity indicated that the tested derivatives showed potent activity against breast cancer cell MCF-7. Molecular docking simulation screening studies of the synthesized products with each of the receptors of (3hb5) for breast cancer and (4k9g) for liver cancer and their interaction with 1H5U of glycogen phosphorylase B, type 2 diabetes drug were examined. The docking study of dispiro-pyrrolizidine-oxindole and spiropyrrolidine showed promising results with several derivatives.     

Synthesis and cytotoxic evaluation of new colchicine derivatives bearing 1, 3, 4-thiadiazole moieties

In search of novel anticancer agents, a series of N-methyl colchiceinamide derivatives (7a-7i) containing 1,3,4-thiadiazole moieties were synthesized, and their structures were confirmed by spectral analysis. Cytotoxicity of these compounds was evaluated by MTT assay in vitro against four human tumor cell lines, i.e. A2780, A549, BEL7402, and MCF-7. The results indicated that most of the derivatives showed significant anticancer activities, particularly, compounds 7h and 7i showed more potent cytotoxic activities of all screened cancer cells than colchicine.     

Calaxanthones A-C,three new xanthones from the roots of Calophyllum calaba and the cytotoxicity

Three new xanthones, named calaxanthones A-C (1–3), along with 17 known xanthones (4–20) were isolated from the roots of Calophyllum calaba. Their structures were determined by spectroscopic analysis. All isolated compounds were evaluated for their cytotoxicity against five cancer cell lines (KB, HeLa S-3, HT-29, MCF-7 and HepG-2). Compound 3 showed potent cytotoxicity against all the five cancer cell lines with IC₅₀ values in the range of 0.82–5.04 μM. Furthermore, compound 6 showed potent cytotoxicity against KB, HeLa S-3 and HepG2 cells with IC₅₀ values of 7.06, 5.27 and 9.64 μM, respectively. Additionally, compound 7 showed potent cytotoxicity against KB cell with an IC₅₀ value of 4.62 μM.     

Palladium-catalyzed domino sequence for the synthesis of N-aryl quinolinone-3-carboxylate derivatives and their anti-proliferative activity

An efficient and an operationally simple Palladium-catalyzed domino reaction for the synthesis of N-aryl quinolinone-3-carboxylate derivatives has been developed via the reaction between diethyl 2-(2-bromobenzylidine) malonate and anilines. These newly synthesized compounds exhibited good to moderate anti-proliferative activity with GI₅₀ values ranging from 0.41 µM to 45.77 µM. Among them, compounds 6j, 6k and 6m demonstrated potential activity particularly against MCF-7 (breast) and KB (oral) cancer cell lines.     

One-pot multicomponent synthesis of novel 1-thiazolyl-5-coumarin-3-yl-pyrazole derivatives and evaluation of their cytotoxic activity

A series of novel 1-thiazolyl-5-coumarin-3-yl-pyrazole derivatives (4a–l) were synthesized via one-pot multicomponent reaction of 5-substituted salicylaldehydes (1a–c), 4-hydroxy-6-methyl-2H-pyran-2-one (2) and 2-hydrazinyl-4-arylthiazoles (3a–d) in acetonitrile using a catalytic amount of piperidine under reflux conditions. This multicomponent approach has advantages such as reduced reaction time and a high product yield percentage when compared with corresponding multistep approaches. All the synthesized compounds were evaluated for their cytotoxic activity against Hep G2 (hepatocellular liver carcinoma) and MCF-7 (breast cancer) cell lines and compared with the standard drug Doxorubicin. Among all the compounds, compounds 4d against Hep G2, 4k against MCF-7 and 4e against both Hep G2 & MCF-7 showed excellent cytotoxic activity.     

Synthesis,anticancer activity,and molecular docking of new pyrazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidine derivatives

The reaction of 3-aminopyrzoles with dimethylamino-acrylonitrile derivatives was utilized for the production of new functionalized pyrazolopyrimidine compounds 4a-c and 6a-c. The structures of the obtained pyrazolopyrimidines were characterized by the different spectroscopic measurements (IR, NMR, and mass analyses). The DFT quantum chemical calculations were applied to the determination of the HOMO-LUMO energies and Mulliken atomic charges. The investigated derivatives exhibited a low HOMO-LUMO energy gap, ranging from 2.70 to 2.34 eV, 4c and both 4b and 6b, respectively. Furthermore, the anticancer activities of the synthesized compounds have also been investigated against four cancer cells as well as normal cells (WI38). The investigated compounds demonstrated an impressive cytotoxic effect on MCF-7 and Hep-2 cells. On comparison with 5-fluorouracil, pyrazolopyrimidines 6a–c showed promising cytotoxic action against MCF-7 and Hep-2, with IC₅₀ values of 18.31–26.51 and 24.15–27.16 μM, respectively. Molecular docking of the prepared pyrazolopyrimidines 4 and 6 with the crystal structure of the KDM5A protein, obtained from the PDB, revealed the types of the protein's binding sites.     

Multistep synthesis and screening of heterocyclic tetrads containing furan,pyrazoline, thiazole and triazole (or oxadiazole) as antimicrobial and anticancer agents

In the present study novel heterocyclic tetrads containing furan, pyrazoline, thiazole and triazole (or oxadiazole) (1, 2, 3, 4a-e and 5a-e) were designed and synthesized and investigated for their antimicrobial (against selected bacteria and fungi) and anticancer potential. The molecules 4e and 5e containing 4-fluoro phenyl and 4-fluoro benzyl substituents showed promising antimicrobial (antibacterial and antifungal activities with MICs ranging between 0.5 and 8 µg/mL. Compounds 3 exhibited potent anticancer activity with an IC₅₀ value of 0.49 ± 1.45 µM against the human gastric cancer cell line (BGC-823) whereas compound 4e displayed an IC₅₀ value of 0.65 ± 0.53 µM against breast cancer (MCF-7) cell line respectively. All compounds showed selective toxicity against the cancer cell lines compared to human normal liver cell lines. Molecular docking studies of the most potent compounds (3 and 4e) against selected microbial and cancer proteins revealed the crucial binding interactions of the potent compounds with the target enzymes. Compounds 3 and 4e are promising lead molecules to be developed as potential drug candidates.     

Meloslines A and B,two novel indole alkaloids from Alstonia scholaris

An unprecedented indole alkaloid melosline A (1), with 6/5/6/6 tetracyclic ring skeleton, together with a new alkaloid melosline B (2) and one known compound (3) were isolated from the leaves and twigs of Alstonia scholaris. The new structures were elucidated by comprehensive spectroscopic analysis. The absolute configuration of compound 1 was confirmed by comparison of experimental data with calculated electronic circular dichroism (ECD). Compound 1 exhibited moderate cytotoxicity against MCF-7 cancer cell lines.     

Total synthesis and cytotoxicity of (−)-jorumycin and its analogues

(?)-Jorumycin and its 15 C-22 analogues were prepared employing l-tyrosine as the chiral starting material via 21 steps. These analogues, along with (?)-jorumycin itself, were evaluated in vitro for cytotoxicity against HCT-8, BEL-7402, Ketr3, A2780, MCF-7, A549, BGC-823, Hela, HELF, and KB cells. The IC₅₀ values of the cytotoxicity of most of these analogs were at the level of nM, which was similar to that of (?)-jorumycin. Among these analogs including (?)-jorumycin, hippuric acid ester derivative 23 exhibited the most potent and broad-spectrum cytotoxic activity against the ten cell lines with an average IC₅₀ of 2.12 nM.     

Diverted total synthesis of melodorinol analogues and evaluation of their cytotoxicity

A series of melodorinol analogues were synthesized via a diverted total synthesis approach, leading to structural modifications on several regions of the molecule. Their cytotoxicity was evaluated against five human cancer cell lines (KB, HeLa-S3, MCF-7, HT-29 and A549). Structure-activity relationship studies revealed key parameters that affect the cytotoxicity. In particular, the novel 4-bromo-furanone analogues exhibited greater cytotoxicity compared to the corresponding non-brominated analogues. The stereochemistry at C-6 and the nature of acyl substituents on the C-6 and C-7 hydroxyl groups also play an important role. The most potent analogues exhibit approximately 15-fold higher cytotoxicity towards KB and HeLa-S3 than melodorinol and also show exceptionally high potency against MCF-7, HT-29 and A549 cell lines.