Synthesis and biological evaluation of phenylpropanoid derivatives

In this work, a series of oxime ether phenylpropanoid derivatives were synthesized. Their anti-hepatitis B virus (HBV) activity in HepG 2.2.15 cells was determined, and anti-cancer potential against three human cancer cell lines was evaluated. All the synthesized derivatives showed great efficiency against HBV. Compound 4d demonstrated the most effective anti-HBV activity, performing strong potent inhibitory not only on the secretion of HBsAg (IC₅₀ = 50.45 μM, SI = 9.18) and HBeAg (IC₅₀ = 50.11 μM, SI = 9.24), but also on the HBV DNA replication (IC₅₀ = 51.80 μM, SI = 8.94). Besides, the synthetic compounds also displayed obvious anti-cancer activity. Moreover, the docking study of all synthesized compounds inside the related protein active site was conducted to explore the molecular interactions and a molecular target for activity using a MOE-docking technique. This study identified a new class of potent anti-HBV and anti-cancer agents.