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Abstract Cardanol is an effective antioxidant and is a compound with antimutagenic and antitumoral activity. Here, we evaluated the genotoxic and mutagenic potential of saturated side chain cardanol and its effects in combination with cyclophosphamide in preventing DNA damage, apoptosis, and immunomodulation. Swiss mice were treated with cardanol (2.5, 5 and 10 mg/kg) alone or in combination with cyclophosphamide (100 mg/kg). The results showed that cardanol is an effective chemopreventive compound, with damage reduction percentages that ranged from 18.9 to 31.76% in the comet assay and from 45 to 97% in the micronucleus assay. Moreover, cardanol has the ability to reduce the frequency of apoptosis induced by cyclophosphamide. The compound did not show immunomodulatory activity. A final interpretation of the data showed that, despite its chemoprotective capacity, cardanol has a tendency to induce DNA damage. Hence, caution is needed if this compound is used as a chemopreventive agent. Also, this compound is likely not suitable as an adjuvant in chemotherapy treatments that use cyclophosphamide.

Abstract The increased incidence of cancer and its high treatment costs have encouraged the search for new compounds to be used in adjuvant therapies for this disease. This study discloses the synthesis of (Z)-4-((1,5-dimethyl-3-oxo-2-phenyl-2,3dihydro-1H-pyrazol-4-yl) amino)-4-oxobut-2-enoic acid (IR-01) and evaluates not only the action of this compound on genetic integrity, increase in splenic phagocytosis and induction of cell death but also its effects in combination with the commercial chemotherapeutic agents doxorubicin, cisplatin and cyclophosphamide. IR-01 was designed and synthesized based on two multifunctionalyzed structural fragments: 4-aminoantipyrine, an active dipyrone metabolite, described as an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agent; and the pharmacophore fragment 1,4-dioxo-2-butenyl, a cytotoxic agent. The results indicated that IR-01 is an effective chemoprotector because it can prevent clastogenic and/or aneugenic damage, has good potential to prevent genomic damage, can increase splenic phagocytosis and lymphocyte frequency and induces cell death. However, its use as an adjuvant in combination with chemotherapy is discouraged since IR-01 interferes in the effectiveness of the tested chemotherapeutic agents. This is a pioneer study as it demonstrates the chemopreventive effects of IR-01, which may be associated with the higher antioxidant activity of the precursor structure of 4-aminoantipyrine over the effects of the 1,4-dioxo-2-butenyl fragment.

Abstract Chemotherapy is one of the major approaches for the treatment of cancer. Therefore, the development of new chemotherapy drugs is an important aspect of medicinal chemistry. Chemotherapeutic agents include isocoumarins, which are privileged structures with potential antitumoral activity. Herein, a new 3-substituted isocoumarin was synthesized from 2-iodo-3,5-dimethoxy-benzoic acid and oct-1-yne in a cross-coupling Sonogashira reaction followed by a copper iodide-catalyzed intramolecular cyclization as key step using MeOH/Et3N as the solvent system. The present study also evaluated the leukometry, phagocytic activity, genotoxic potential and cell death induction of three different doses (5 mg/kg, 10 mg/kg and 20 mg/kg) of this newly synthesized isocoumarin, alone and in combination with the commercial chemotherapeutic agents cyclophosphamide (100 mg/kg) and cisplatin (6 mg/kg) in male Swiss mice. The results suggest that the isocoumarin has genotoxicity and causes cell death. Noteworthy, this new compound can increase splenic phagocytosis and lymphocyte frequency, which are related to immunomodulatory activity. When combined with either cyclophosphamide or cisplatin, chemopreventive activity led to a reduction in the effects of both chemotherapeutic drugs. Thus, the new isocoumarin is not a candidate for chemotherapeutic adjuvant in treatments using cyclophosphamide or cisplatin. Nevertheless, the compound itself is an important prototype for the development of new antitumor drugs.

Despite rapid advances in both the early detection and treatment of cancer, the mortality from this disease remains high, which justifies the development of new products that are more selective and effective and have fewer side effects. Accordingly, a novel ester was synthesized that contains two pharmacophores with important biological activities: (I) 4-aminoantipyrine, which has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects, and (II) the pharmacophore 1,4-dioxo-butenyl, which has cytotoxic activity. When administered alone, this compound is non-genotoxic, and it does not cause an increasing in splenic phagocytosis. Nevertheless, it can induce cell death. When administered in combination with commercial chemotherapeutic agents, such as doxorubicin, cisplatin, and cyclophosphamide, the ester shows antigenotoxic activity and decreases phagocytosis and reduces the potential to cause cell death. These results indicate that the compound should not be used in combination with chemotherapeutic agents that exert their effect through DNA damage, an important feature of antitumor drugs.