Design, synthesis and in vitro evaluation of tylophorine derivatives as possible anti-tumor agents.

Structural simplification and modification of natural products are always very important resources to antitumor drugs. By introducing various aminomethyl groups and amide groups into the phenanthrene ring of tylophorine, a novel series of tylophorine derivatives have been designed and synthesized, and their antiproliferative activities against MCF-7, A549 and HepG-2 cells have been evaluated, too. The results indicated that most of the prepared compounds exhibited good antitumor activities. Especially, one compound with an {ethyl[2-(morpholin-4-yl)ethyl]amino}methyl group at the side chain exhibited the most significant cytotoxic effects.