Syntheses and reactions of some new 2-arylidene-4-(biphenyl-4-yl)-but-3-en-4-olides with a study of their biological activity.

2-Arylidene-4-(biphenyl-4-yl)but-3-en-4-olides also known as 3-arylidene-5-(biphenyl-4-yl)-2(3H)-furanones were prepared from 3-(4-phenyl-benzoyl) propionic acid and aromatic aldehydes. Some of the selected butenolides were reacted with ammonia and benzylamine to give corresponding pyrrolones and N-benzylpyrrolones respectively, which were characterized on the basis of 1H NMR and MS data and elemental analysis results. These compounds were tested for anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial actions. A few compounds were found to have promising anti-inflammatory activity while a fair in number of compounds showed a good anti-fungal activity and a promising antibacterial activity against S. aureus and E. coli.