Synthesis of novel β-amino ketones containing a p-aminobenzoic acid moiety and evaluation of their antidiabetic activities

The synthesis of two series of β-amino ketones containing a p-aminobenzoic acid moiety (TM-1 and TM-2) using a modified protocol of the Mannich reaction is reported. The molecular structures of a total of tweenty three new target compounds were characterized by 1H NMR, 13C NMR, ESI-MS and HR-MS. Subsequently, their antidiabetic activities were screened in vitro. The α-glucodase inhibition (α-GI) activity of compound 1e reached a remarkable level of 66.50%. The peroxisome proliferatoractivated receptor (PPAR) relative activation activities of six compounds are above 80%, and in particular 2i displays an unprecedentedly high PPAR of 130.91%. The structure-activity relationships of the compounds were established. 2i is also subject to further in-depth investigation.