Synthesis and $PGE_2$ Inhibitory Activity of 5,7-Dihydroxyflavones and Their Ο-Methylated Flavone Analogs

5,7-Dihydroxyflavones and their Ο-methylated flavone analogs were prepared and evaluated their anti-inflammatory activity to decipher the structure-activity relationships. Most of the analogs were achieved from 2,4,6-trihydroxyacetophenone in 4 steps. 5,7-Dihydroxy-4 -methoxyflavone (4c) and 7-hydroxy-4 ,5-dimethoxyflavone(6c) were prepared following a different synthetic pathway. Among the synthetic flavones tested, 5-hydroxy-7-methoxyflavone analogs (3a-3e) showed moderate inhibitory activities of $PGE_2$ production from LPS-induced RAW 264.7 cells.