Design and synthesis of novel magnolol derivatives as potential antimicrobial and antiproliferative compounds.

A series of novel magnolol derivatives were synthesised and evaluated for in vitro antimicrobial and antiproliferative activities. We found that most of the compounds were effective inhibitors of Staphylococcus aureus, MRSA and VRE with MIC in the range of 1-64 μg/mL and MBC in the range of 1-128 μg/mL. Few derivatives also exhibited promising antifungal activity. Some magnolol analogues exhibited promising antiproliferative activity than parent magnolol when tested against three human cancer cell lines.