Anti-HSV-1 and antioxidant activities of dicaffeoyl and digalloyl esters of quinic acid

Nine caffeic and gallic acids derivatives were synthesized and evaluated for their antioxidant activity using the DPPH radical scavenging activity assay and for their antiherpes activity against HSV-1. All compounds displayed higher antioxidant activities than α-tocopherol. The most active antioxidant was compound 8 (IC50 = 177 μM). Five compounds (7, 10, 11, 12 and 14) were found to possess anti-HSV-1 activity with selectivity indices values ranging from 7.0 to 27.1. The most active was compound 10 (IC50 = 15.2 μM; SI = 27.1).