Starting from isosteviol, a series of diterpenoid 1,3-aminoalcohol derivatives were stereoselectively synthesised. The acid-catalysed hydrolysis and rearrangement of natural stevioside gave isosteviol, which was transformed to the key intermediate methyl ester. In the next step, Mannich condensation of diterpenoid ketone, paraformaldehyde, and secondary amines resulted in the formation of 1,3-aminoketones with different stereoselectivities. During the Mannich condensation with dibenzylamine, an interesting N-benzyl → N-methyl substituent exchange was observed. Reduction of 1,3-aminoketones produced diastereoisomeric 1,3-aminoalcohols. Alternatively, aminoalcohols were obtained via stereoselective hydroxy-formylation, followed by oxime preparation, reduction, and finally, reductive alkylation of the obtained primary aminoalcohols. An alternative 1,3-aminoalcohol library was prepared by reductive amination of the intermediate 3-hydroxyaldehyde obtained from isosteviol in two-step synthesis. Cytotoxic activity of compounds against human tumour cell lines (A2780, SiHa, HeLa, MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231) was investigated. In our preliminary study, the 1,3-aminoalcohol function and N-benzyl substitution seemed to be essential for the reliable antiproliferative activity. To extend their application, a diterpenoid condensed with 2-phenylimino-1,3-thiazine and -1,3-oxazine was also attempted to prepare, but only formation of thioether intermediate was observed.
Keywords: 1,3-aminoalcohol; Mannich; antiproliferative activity; chiral pool; diterpene; isosteviol.