A quantitative structure-activity relationship for antitumor activity of long-chain phenols from Ginkgo biloba L.

With the aim of obtaining compounds with strong antitumor activity, a quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) of antitumor phenolic compounds (long-chain phenols) was derived using the Hansch-Fujita equation. The ED50 values against Chinese hamster V-79 cells were analyzed in terms of log P as the hydrophobic parameter and the energy of the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (ELUMO) calculated by using the modified neglect of differential overlap (MNDO) method as the electronic parameter, by means of multiple regression analysis. It was found that the activities mainly depended on log P (an optimum log P of 8.3) and a low-lying ELUMO value. 4-Undecylcatechol, selected on the basis of the above results, exhibited strong antitumor activity against Sarcoma 180 ascites and P-388 lymphocytic leukemia.