Oxyresveratrol (2,4,3',5'-tetrahydroxystilbene, 1), a phytoalexin present in large amounts in the heartwood of Artocarpus lacucha Buch.-Ham., has been reported to possess a wide variety of biological activities. As part of our continuing studies on the structural modification of oxyresveratrol, a library of twenty-six compounds was prepared via O-alkylation, aromatic halogenation, and electrophilic aromatic substitution. The two aromatic rings of the stilbene system of 1 can be chemically modulated by exploiting different protecting groups. Such a strategy allows for selective and exclusive modifications on either ring A or ring B. All compounds were evaluated in vitro for a panel of biological activities, including free radical scavenging activity, DNA protective properties, antiherpetic activity, inhibition of α-glucosidase and neuraminidase, and cytotoxicity against some cancer cell lines. Several derivatives were comparably active or even more potent than the parent oxyresveratrol and/or the appropriate positive controls. The partially etherified analogs 5'-hydroxy-2,3',4-trimethoxystilbene and 3',5'-dihydroxy-2,4-dimethoxystilbene demonstrated promising anti-herpetic and DNA protective activities, offering new leads for neuropreventive agent research, whereas 5'-hydroxy-2,3',4,-triisopropoxystilbene displayed anti-α-glucosidase effects, providing a new lead molecule for anti-diabetic drug development. 3',5'-Diacetoxy-2,4-diisopropoxystilbene showed potent and selective cytotoxicity against HeLa cancer cells, but the compound still needs further in vivo investigation to verify its anticancer potential.
Keywords: Artocarpus lacucha; Artocarpus lakoocha; cytotoxicity; free radicals; herpes simplex; oxyresveratrol; stilbene; α-glucosidase.