Optimizing the flavanone core toward new selective nitrogen-containing modulators of ABC transporters

Naringenin ( ), isolated in large amount from the aerial parts of , was chemically derivatized to yield 18 imine derivatives ( ) and three alkylated derivatives through a Mannich-type reaction ( ) that were tested as multidrug resistance (MDR) reversers in cancer cells. While hydrazone ( ) and azine ( ) derivatives showed an improvement in their MDR reversal activities against the breast cancer resistance protein, carbohydrazides revealed an enhancement in MDR reversal activity toward the multidrug resistance protein 1. The observed activities, together with pharmacophoric analysis and molecular docking studies, identified the spatial orientation of the substituents as a key structural feature toward a possible mechanism by which naringenin derivatives may reverse MDR in cancer.