Molecules 2012, 17(10), 11294-11302; doi:10.3390/molecules171011294
Article

Synthesis and Cytotoxicity Evaluation of 13-n-Alkyl Berberine and Palmatine Analogues as Anticancer Agents

Lei Zhang 1 email, Jingjing Li 1 email, Fei Ma 2,3 email, Shining Yao 4 email, Naisan Li 1 email, Jing Wang 1 email, Yongbin Wang 1 email, Xiuzhen Wang 5 email and Qizheng Yao 1,* email
1 School of Pharmacy, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 210009, Jiangsu, China 2 Oil Crops Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Wuhan 430062, Hubei, China 3 Key Laboratory of Biology and Genetic Improvement of Oil Crops, Ministry of Agriculture, Wuhan 430062, Hubei, China 4 Wuxi JC Pharmaceutical Technology Inc., Wuxi 214036, Jiangsu, China 5 School of Pharmacy, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 210029, Jiangsu, China
* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Received: 30 August 2012; in revised form: 11 September 2012 / Accepted: 17 September 2012 / Published: 25 September 2012
(This article belongs to the Section Medicinal Chemistry)
PDF Full-text Download PDF Full-Text [225 KB, uploaded 25 September 2012 15:16 CEST]
Abstract: By introducing long carbon-chain alkyl groups at the C-13 position of berberine and palmatine, 13-n-hexyl/13-n-octyl berberine and palmatine chloride analogues 4a–d were synthesized and examined by MTT assays for cytotoxic activity in seven human cancer cell lines (7701QGY, SMMC7721, HepG2, CEM, CEM/VCR, KIII, Lewis), yielding IC50 values of 0.02 ± 0.01–13.58 ± 2.84 μM. 13-n-Octyl palmatine (compound 4d) gave the most potent inhibitor activity, with an IC50 of 0.02 ± 0.01 μM for SMMC7721. In all cases, the 13-n-alkyl berberine and palmatine analogues 4a–d were more cytotoxic than berberine and palmatine. In addition, compounds 4a–d also exhibited more potent cytotoxicity than berberine and palmatine in mice with S180 sarcoma xenografted in vivo. The primary screening results indicated that the 13-n-hexyl/13-n-octyl berberine and palmatine analogues might be valuable source for new potent anticancer drug candidates.
Keywords: berberine; palmatine; alkylation; cytotoxicity; antitumor

Article Statistics

Click here to load and display the download statistics.

Cite This Article

MDPI and ACS Style

Zhang, L.; Li, J.; Ma, F.; Yao, S.; Li, N.; Wang, J.; Wang, Y.; Wang, X.; Yao, Q. Synthesis and Cytotoxicity Evaluation of 13-n-Alkyl Berberine and Palmatine Analogues as Anticancer Agents. Molecules 2012, 17, 11294-11302.

AMA Style

Zhang L, Li J, Ma F, Yao S, Li N, Wang J, Wang Y, Wang X, Yao Q. Synthesis and Cytotoxicity Evaluation of 13-n-Alkyl Berberine and Palmatine Analogues as Anticancer Agents. Molecules. 2012; 17(10):11294-11302.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Zhang, Lei; Li, Jingjing; Ma, Fei; Yao, Shining; Li, Naisan; Wang, Jing; Wang, Yongbin; Wang, Xiuzhen; Yao, Qizheng. 2012. "Synthesis and Cytotoxicity Evaluation of 13-n-Alkyl Berberine and Palmatine Analogues as Anticancer Agents." Molecules 17, no. 10: 11294-11302.

Molecules EISSN 1420-3049 Published by MDPI AG, Basel, Switzerland RSS E-Mail Table of Contents Alert