International Journal of Molecular Sciences (Jan 2023)

Synthesis and Anti-Proliferative Evaluation of Arctigenin Analogues with C-9′ Derivatisation

  • Emily K. Paulin,
  • Euphemia Leung,
  • Lisa I. Pilkington,
  • David Barker

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms24021167
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 24, no. 2
p. 1167

Abstract

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Dibenzylbutyrolactone lignans (DBLs) are a class of natural products with a wide variety of biological activities. Due to their potential for the development of human therapeutic agents, DBLs have been subjected to various SAR studies in order to optimise activity. Previous reports have mainly considered changes on the aromatic rings and at the benzylic carbons of the compounds, whilst the effects of substituents in the lactone, at the C-9′ position, have been relatively unexplored. This position has an unexploited potential for the development of novel dibenzyl butyrolactone derivatives, with previous preliminary findings revealing C-9′-hydroxymethyl analogues inducing programmed cell cycle death. Using the core structure of the bioactive natural product arctigenin, C-9′ derivatives were synthesised using various synthetic pathways and with prepared derivatives providing more potent anti-proliferative activity than the C-9′-hydroxymethyl lead compound.

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