Applying rough set theory in the function group analysis for phenolic amide compounds

This research synthesized and assayed 15 phenolic amide compounds for antioxidant activity. The principle approach was based on the antioxidant activity (IC50) values of various R1–R5 in the phenolic amide compound backbones for investigating the impact in functional groups. Through the analysis and calculation by rough set mathematics, it was determined that R5 was responsible for the most significant impact on antioxidant activity. This finding indicated that the functional group at the para-position in the phenethylamine backbone was the most influential, followed by R2 and R4, indicating the critical role of the functional group at the meta-position. This result was consistent with the actual circumstance. In the future, functional groups at different positions should be synthesized to increase the number of compounds followed by integrating the mathematics model and computer toolbox to validate the accuracy and rationality.