Design, Synthesis and Antitumor Activity of Quercetin Derivatives Containing a Quinoline Moiety

Quercetin is a flavonoid with significant biological and pharmacological activity. In this paper, quercetin was modified at the 3-OH position. Rutin was used as a raw material. We used methyl protection, Williamson etherification reactions, and then substitution reactions to prepare 15 novel quercetin derivatives containing a quinoline moiety. All these complexes were characterized by ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR, IR and HRMS. Of these, compound 3e (IC₅₀ = 6.722 μmol·L^-1) had a better inhibitory effect on human liver cancer (HepG-2) than DDP (Cisplatin) (IC₅₀ = 26.981 μmol·L^-1). The mechanism of the action experiment showed that compound 3e could induce cell apoptosis.