Isolation, finding or discovery of novel anticancer agents is very important for cancer treatment, and seaweeds are one of the largest producers of chemically active metabolites with valuable cytotoxic properties, and therefore can be used as new chemotherapeutic agents or source of inspiration to develop new ones. Identification of the more potent and selective anticancer components isolated from brown, green and red seaweeds, as well as studies of their mode of action is very attractive and constitute a small but relevant progress for pharmacological applications. Several researchers have carried out in vitro and in vivo studies in various cell lines and have disclosed the active metabolites among the terpenoids, including carotenoids, polyphenols and alkaloids that can be found in seaweeds. In this review the type of metabolites and their cytotoxic or antiproliferative effects will be discussed additionally their mode of action, structure-activity relationship and selectivity will also be revealed. The diterpene dictyolactone, the sterol cholest-5-en-3β,7α-diol and the halogenated monoterpene halomon are among the reported compounds, the ones that present sub-micromolar cytotoxicity. Additionally, one dimeric sesquiterpene of the cyclolaurane-type, three bromophenols and one halogenated monoterpene should be emphasized because they exhibit half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) values between 1–5 µM against several cell lines.
More than sixty years after its discovery, the Wittig reaction still is a powerful tool to create carbon–carbon double bonds. The large diversity of high‐yielding and stereoselective reactions that can be achieved, even for highly functionalized molecules, is presented, demonstrating that the Wittig reaction is an efficient and attractive strategy in synthetic organic chemistry. The principles of the reaction will be briefly presented and discussed, but the focus will be on the most recent reports using this reaction in the synthesis of heterocyclic compounds. A comprehensive discussion on its application in the total synthesis of natural products and in the synthesis of natural analogues will be presented. Emphasis will be given to important organic molecules that present interesting biological activities. The purpose of this short review is to highlight the advances in this general area by presenting such newer applications in organic synthesis and eventually guide future researchers.
Flavanones [2-aryl-2,3-dihydrochromen-4(1H)ones] and 2-aryl-2,3-dihydroquinolin-4(1H)-ones are valuable precursors in the synthesis of important pharmacological scaffolds, so efficient methodologies towards their synthesis are important in the medicinal chemistry context. Their synthesis also involves theoretical concepts such as aldol condensation, isomerization, and catalysis that make it useful in an undergraduate organic chemistry laboratory. The use of both microwave irradiation as a source of energy to promote reactions and efficient catalysts are considered within green chemistry principles, mostly because the reaction yields are improved and reaction time decreased. In this paper, the efficiency of microwave irradiation use in the synthesis of chalcone derivatives and efficient catalyst systems to promote their isomerization into flavanones and 2-aryl-2,3-dihydroquinolin-4(1H)-ones is demonstrated.
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