Synthesis, Characterization, In-Vitro and In-Vivo Anti-Cancer Evaluation of Novel Benzopyrylium Salts on Colorectal Cancer Model of Drosophila Melanogaster

A total of 10 benzopyrylium salts, 7 being novel, were synthesized by Claisen-Schmidt condensation reaction and characterized by H-1 and C-13 NMR, High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry, FT-IR, and UV-Vis spectroscopy. The purity of these synthesized compounds was determined by HPLC. The in-vitro anti-cancer evaluation of these synthesized benzopyrylium salts was done at National Cancer Institute (NCI), USA, against 60 human cancer cell lines. The compounds 4 and 8 showed promising anti-cancer activities against various human cancer cell lines. The docking studies of the compounds were carried out against the oncogenic target JNK and their docking scores were compared to that of the known JNK inhibitor SP600125 (Pyrazolanthrone). Compound 4 exhibited an outstanding docking score of -9.0 kcal/mol, comparable to the docking score of SP600125 (-9.3 kcal/mol). The ex-vivo studies in the hind-gut of Drosophila were carried out and the inhibitory activity of compound 4 supported the findings of the docking studies. Furthermore, the potent compounds 4 and 8 were taken up for their in-vivo anti-cancer evaluation in the colorectal cancer model (CRC) of Drosophila melanogaster. The toxicity studies of these potent compounds were carried out both in wild type and mutant type Drosophila and the lethal doses were determined to be 200 mu M.