Unsymmetrical methylene derivatives of indoles as antiproliferative agents

Indole-3-carbinol is a natural product which has been shown to reduce the incidence of spontaneous and carcinogen-induced mammary tumours in animals. Eighteen unsymmetrical methylene derivatives of indoles were prepared by reaction of Mannich bases of 7-hydroxycoumarins with substituted indoles in acetic or propionic anhydride. The synthesised molecules were tested in vitro against the MCF7 and MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cell lines by MTT and cell count assays. Results from 16 tested compounds showed that 60% of them exerted some effects against the MDA-MB-231 compared to about 30% towards the MCF7. Among all, the 3-(7'-acetoxy-4-methylcoumarin-8'-yl)methyl-2-methylindole resulted the most effective in both cell lines, compared to indole-3-carbinol. In conclusion, these preliminary results report that some of these compounds might be promising potential antiproliferative agents.