Mimicry of annonaceous acetogenins: enantioselective synthesis of a (4R)-hydroxy analogue having potent antitumor activity.

The (4R)-hydroxylated analogues of annonaceous acetogenin mimicking compound 2 were designed and synthesized structurally on the basis of the naturally occurring annonaceous acetogenin bullatacin, which was discovered as a typical member of the novel family of polyketides with potent cytotoxicity, antitumoral, and other biological activities. The preliminary screenings show that the IC(50) values of 2 were 1.6 x 10(-3) and 8 x 10(-2) microg/mL against HT-29 and HCT-8, respectively. A remarkable enhancement effect was observed by the activity comparison of 1c and its (4R)-hydroxylated analogue 2.