Synthesis and biological evaluation of some novel resveratrol amide derivatives as potential anti-tumor agents

Three series of novel resveratrol amide derivatives (1a–q, 2a–h, 3a–l) were synthesized and evaluated for their biological activities. All compounds were characterized by 1H NMR, 13C NMR, MS and elemental analysis. Furthermore, compound 3e was also characterized by X-ray crystallography. All the compounds were evaluated for their anti-tumor activity against MCF-7, A549 and B16-F10 tumor cell lines as well as cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2)-derived prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) inhibitory activity of murine macrophage RAW 264.7 cell line. Among them, compounds 1c, 1g and 3e displayed the most potent COX-2 inhibitory activity with the IC50 values of 1.02, 1.27 and 1.98 μM, respectively. Molecular docking studies were performed to position compounds 1c and 3e into the active site of COX-2 to determine the probable binding modes.

Graphical abstractA series of novel resveratrol amide derivatives had been synthesized and evaluated for their anti-tumor activity as potent COX-2 inhibitors.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slideHighlights► A series of novel resveratrol amide derivatives were synthesized. ► Compound 3e had been characterized by X-ray crystallography. ► Compounds 1c, 1g and 3e displayed the most potent COX-2 inhibitory activity.