Novel C-3 and C-20 derived analogs of betulinic acid as potent cytotoxic agents: design, synthesis, <i>in vitro</i> and <i>in silico</i> studies.

ABSTRACT: In this report, novel derivatives of betulinic acid were designed and synthesized by targeting the C-3-OH group and C-20 olefinic bond in an endeavour to develop potent antitumor agents. These analogs were screened for their anticancer activity against six different human cancer cell lines including breast cancer MCF-7, lung cancer A549, colon cancer HCT-116, leukemia MOLT-4, prostate carcinoma cell PC-3 and pancreatic cancer cell Miapaca-2 by MTT assay. Many derivatives displayed better cytotoxicity than the parent compound BA. More significantly compounds 9b, 9e, 10 and 11a were found to have more promising activity than BA. Compound 11a was the most potent analog with IC₅₀ values of 7.15 (MCF-7), 8.0 (A549), 3.13 (HCT-116), 13.88 (MOLT-4), 8.0 (PC-3) and 6.96 (MiaPaCa-2) μM.

SUBMITTER: Dangroo NA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12061048 | biostudies-literature | 2025 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature