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Antiproliferative Activities of Natural and Synthetic Compounds

A special issue of Molecules (ISSN 1420-3049). This special issue belongs to the section "Medicinal Chemistry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 May 2025 | Viewed by 1455

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Gonçalo Moniz Institute, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (IGM-FIOCRUZ/BA), Salvador, BA 40296-710, Brazil
Interests: natural products; experimental oncology; biotechnology; natural products biotechnology
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The identification and selection of antiproliferative compounds is of particular importance in cancer research. Studies of natural and synthetic compounds with antiproliferative effects have provided new insights into their potential for cancer treatment. Understanding the mechanisms through which these compounds affect cell proliferation may lead to the development of more effective therapies that specifically target cancer cells.

This Special Issue encourages the submission of papers on the antiproliferative effects of synthetic and natural compounds on cancer cells from marine organisms, fungi, microorganisms, and medicinal plants. We only welcome submissions of well chemically characterized compounds. The following areas of natural and synthetic compounds with antiproliferative activities are covered:

  • Chemistryofnaturalproducts;
  • Syntheticchemistry;
  • Mechanismofaction;
  • Moleculartarget;
  • Formulations and delivery systems.

This Special Issue aims to publish original research papers and reviews from researchers worldwide.

Prof. Dr. Daniel Pereira Bezerra
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • cancer research
  • natural products
  • synthetic compounds

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

16 pages, 1206 KiB  
Article
Gouregine, an α-Gem-Dimethyltetradehydrocularine Alkaloid, and Other Aporphinoid Alkaloids from the Bark of Guatteria olivacea (Annonaceae) and Their In Vitro Cytotoxic Activities
by Emmanoel V. Costa, José Guilherme C. Freitas, Steve Pereira Manickchand, Morgana de S. Araújo, Valdenizia R. Silva, Luciano de S. Santos, Hector Henrique Ferreira Koolen, Felipe M. A. da Silva, Milena Botelho Pereira Soares and Daniel P. Bezerra
Molecules 2024, 29(16), 3834; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules29163834 - 13 Aug 2024
Viewed by 903
Abstract
Guatteria olivacea R.E. Fries is an Amazonian species known as ‘envira-bobó’ and ‘envira-fofa’ and is common in the states of Amazonas, Acre, and Pará. Recently, the essential oil from the leaves of this species has shown promising antitumor activity both in vitro and [...] Read more.
Guatteria olivacea R.E. Fries is an Amazonian species known as ‘envira-bobó’ and ‘envira-fofa’ and is common in the states of Amazonas, Acre, and Pará. Recently, the essential oil from the leaves of this species has shown promising antitumor activity both in vitro and in vivo. The presence of isoquinoline-derived alkaloids, including aporphinoids and tetrahydroprotoberberine alkaloids, has also been previously reported. In our ongoing search for bioactive compounds from Annonaceae Amazonian plants, the bark of G. olivacea was investigated via classical chromatography techniques, which revealed nine compounds, eight isoquinoline-derived alkaloids, a rare alkaloid with a α-gem-dimethyltetradehydrocularine structure known as gouregine, seven known aporphinoid alkaloids: isopiline, O-methylisopiline, melosmine, 9-hydroxyiguattescine, dihydromelosmine, lysicamine, and guattouregidine, and one known pimaradiene diterpene: acanthoic acid. All the isolated compounds were described for the first time in the bark of G. olivacea, and their structures were elucidated by extensive analyses of their 1D and 2D NMR spectra in combination with MS data. The NMR data of the alkaloids isopiline, O-methylisopiline, melosmine, dihydromelosmine, and guattouregidine were revised due to incomplete data in the literature and some ambiguities. The in vitro cytotoxic activities of the isolated compounds were evaluated against human cancer (HepG2, KG-1a, and HCT116) and noncancerous (MRC-5) cell lines via the Alamar blue assay after 72 h of incubation. Among the compounds evaluated against human cancer cell lines, the most active was the oxoaporphine alkaloid lysicamine, which has strong activity against HCT116 cells, with an IC50 value of 6.64 µg/mL (22.79 µmol/L). Melosmine had a moderate effect on HCT116 cells, with an IC50 value of 16.77 µg/mL (49.70 µmol/L), whereas acanthoic acid had moderate effects on HepG2 and HCT116 cells, with IC50 values of 14.63 µg/mL (48.37 µmol/L) and 21.25 µg/mL (70.25 µmol/L), respectively. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Antiproliferative Activities of Natural and Synthetic Compounds)
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