Synthesis and biological evaluation of novel semi-conservative monocarbonyl analogs of curcumin as anti-inflammatory agents

Curcumin, a natural product, has been shown to exhibit notable anti-inflammatory activities. However, the clinical application of curcumin was restricted by its poor stability and bioavailability. We have reported a series of monocarbonyl analogs of curcumin (MACs) previously. In the present study, we synthesized 32 semi-conservative MACs and evaluated their anti-inflammatory effects in RAW 264.7 macrophages. Most of them showed enhanced abilities to inhibit the lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced expression of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha). The preliminary structure-activity relationship was discussed and the preliminary anti-inflammatory mechanism was also explored. The most potent analog compound, WZ35, exhibits significant protection against LPS-induced death in septic mice. These findings suggest that this kind of curcumin derivative may be used to develop promising anti-inflammatory agents to treat inflammatory diseases.