Syntheses of cytotoxic novel arctigenin derivatives bearing halogen and alkyl groups on aromatic rings

[Display omitted] The new lignano-9,9′-lactones (α,β-dibenzyl-γ-butyrolactone lignans), which showed the higher cytotoxicity than arctigenin, were synthesized. The well-known cytotoxic arctigenin showed activity against HL-60 cells (EC50=12μM), however, it was inactive against HeLa cells (EC50>100μM). The synthesized (3,4-dichloro, 2′-butoxy)-derivative 55 and (3,4-dichloro, 4′-butyl)-derivative 66 bearing the lignano-9,9′-lactone structures showed the EC50 values of 10μM and 9.4μM against HL-60 cells, respectively. Against HeLa cells, the EC50 value of the derivative 66 was 27μM. By comparing the activities with the corresponding 9,9′-epoxy structure (tetrahydrofuran compounds), the importance of the lactone structure of 55 and 66 for the higher activities was shown. The substituents on the aromatic ring of the lignano-9,9′-lactones affected the cytotoxicity level, observing more than 10-fold difference.