Débora Munhoz Rodrigues, Gisele Bulhões Portapilla, Gabriel Soubihe de Sicco, Iris Fraioli Reis da Silva, Sergio de Albuquerque, Jairo Kenupp Bastos & Vanessa Leiria Campo
Abstract
p-Coumaric acid is derived from cinnamic acid and is one of the major compounds in the Brazilian green propolis extract. Studies have shown that both p-coumaric acid and cinnamic acid have promising antiproliferative effects. In this context, aiming to increase the complexity of these active natural products and their activities, we performed coupling reactions with propargylamine and benzylamine, as well as with threonine, phenylalanine and lysine amino acids, aiming to enhance their antiproliferative effects towards the hormone-dependent breast cancer MCF-7 cells. Overall, the p-coumaric acid coupling with L-threonine amino acid (compound 15) had the best selectivity index (SI = 5.1), with half-maximal inhibitory concentration of 39.6 ± 1 μM, showing a high selectivity against hormone-dependent breast cancer cell lines MCF-7 and low cytotoxicity against the normal breast cell lines MCF-10A. Thus, this new natural product derivative may represent a prototype for the future development of antiproliferative agents, especially against hormone-dependent breast cancer.
* THESE STATEMENTS HAVE NOT BEEN EVALUATED BY THE FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION. THIS IS NOT INTENDED TO DIAGNOSE, TREAT CURE OR PREVENT ANY DISEASE.