Synthesis of a Natural Chalcone and Its Prenyl Analogs – Evaluation of Tumor Cell Growth‐Inhibitory Activities, and Effects on Cell Cycle and Apoptosis

Abstract Six prenyl (=3‐methylbut‐2‐en‐1‐yl) chalcones (=1,3‐diphenylprop‐2‐en‐1‐ones), 2 – 7 , and one natural non‐prenylated chalcone, 1 , have been synthesized and evaluated for their in vitro growth‐inhibitory activity against three human tumor cell lines. A pronounced dose‐dependent growth‐inhibitory effect was observed for all prenylated derivatives, except for 7 . The chalcone possessing one prenyloxy group at C(2′), i.e. , 2 , was the most active derivative against the three human tumor cell lines (5.9< GI 50 <7.7 μ M ). The majority of compounds caused an increase in percentage of apoptotic cells and/or they interfered with cell cycle distribution in the MCF‐7 cell line.