Hemisynthesis and evaluation of pharmacological activities of carvacrol-derivatives

Abstract

Hemi-synthesis, a process widely used in pharmacological research, consists of a modification in the chemical structure of a natural product in order to improve its activity and/or to reduce its side effects. Two carvacrol-derivatives (P1 and P2) have been synthetized using reactions of alkylation by binding alkan groups at the hydroxyl group of carvacrol. NMR analysis was performed for synthetized derivatives to confirm the success of the reactions. Then, cytotoxic activity, against two tumour cell lines (P-815 and MCF-7), and antibacterial activity of carvacrol, P1 and P2 were performed. Cytotoxicity was measured using the colourimetric methyl tetrazolium test (MTT) and antimicrobial activity was measured using the diffusion technique on solid media and the determination of CMI on liquid media. Our results show that chemical modifications made on carvacrol have no effect on its antitumor activity. However, an important decrease of its antibacterial activity was observed, especially for P1. Our results suggest that hydroxyl group at this position of the molecule may be responsible for carvacrol antibacterial activity, while the other parts of the molecule may be responsible for its antitumor activity. On the other hand, introduced modifications may affect mechanism of action of the molecules as well as its pharmacokinetics properties.