Microwave-assisted synthesis, anti-inflammatory and anti-proliferative activities of new maslinic acid derivatives bearing 1,5- and 1,4-disubstituted triazoles

Abstract

In this work, 40 analogs with a natural maslinic acid core (from Olea europaea L.) and various aromatic azides were synthesized. A regiospecific, facile and practical synthesis of 1,5-triazolyl derivatives by Ru(II)-catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition (RuAAC), and mono-, bis- and tri-1,4-triazolyl derivatives by Cu(I)-catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC) was described. All the reactions were assisted by microwave irradiation avoiding toxic reagents and solvents. The new products were obtained from the reaction mixture by simple purification in almost quantitative yields and the reaction times were in general shorter than those reported in the literature. Their chemical structures were elucidated on the basis of extensive spectroscopic methods including ESI-HRMS, 1D and 2D-NMR. Most of the compounds were evaluated for their anti-inflammatory activity using LPS-stimulated human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and antiproliferative effects towards cultured murine EMT-6 (Breast) and human SW480 (colon) cancer cell lines.

Keywords:

• Anti-inflammatory
• anti-proliferative
• maslinic acid
• Olea europaea L.
• triazoles

Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to Mrs Amna Benzarti and Miss Nadia Msaddek, NMR service at the Faculty of Monastir, University of Monastir for the 1D and 2D NMR analysis.

Declaration of interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interests. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of this article. This study was financially supported (LR11ES39) by the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research of Tunisia.