Eugenol, 4-allyl-2-methoxyphenol, is the main constituent of clove essential oil and has demonstrated relevant biological activity, namely anticancer activity. Aiming to increase this activity, we synthesized a series of eugenol β-amino alcohol and β-alkoxy alcohol derivatives, which were then tested against two human cancer cell lines, namely gastric adenocarcinoma cells (AGS) and lung adenocarcinoma cells (A549). An initial screening was performed to identify the most cytotoxic compounds. The results demonstrated that three β-amino alcohol derivatives had anticancer activity that justified subsequent studies, having been shown to trigger apoptosis. Importantly, the most potent molecules displayed no appreciable toxicity towards human noncancer cells. Structure-activity relationships show that changes in eugenol structure led to enhanced cytotoxic activity and can contribute to the future design of more potent and selective drugs.

A series of β-amino alcohols were prepared by the reaction of eugenol epoxide with aliphatic and aromatic amine nucleophiles. The synthesized compounds were fully characterized and evaluated as potential insecticides through the assessment of their biological activity against Sf9 insect cells, compared with a commercial synthetic pesticide (chlorpyrifos, CHPY). Three derivatives bearing a terminal benzene ring, either substituted or unsubstituted, were identified as the most potent molecules, two of them displaying higher toxicity to insect cells than CHPY. In addition, the most promising molecules were able to increase the activity of serine proteases (caspases) pivotal to apoptosis and were more toxic to insect cells than human cells. Structure-based inverted virtual screening and molecular dynamics simulations demonstrate that these molecules likely target acetylcholinesterase and/or the insect odorant-binding proteins and are able to form stable complexes with these proteins. Encapsulation assays in liposomes of DMPG and DPPC/DMPG (1:1) were performed for the most active compound, and high encapsulation efficiencies were obtained. A thermosensitive formulation was achieved with the compound release being more efficient at higher temperatures.

Eugenol is a major constituent of clove essential oil with interesting biological activity, namely antimicrobial and antioxidant. Structural changes of eugenol are a useful strategy in order to improve biological activity and at the same time obtain new analogues with reduced side effects. In this work, a series of amine nucleophiles were reacted with eugenol epoxide so as to obtain the corresponding amino alcohols, considering their potential as biopesticides. These eugenol amino alcohols were evaluated against insect cells, specifically the Sf9 cell line.

Eugenol is a phenylpropanoid displaying a wide range of biological activities. In this study, the cytotoxic activity of various β-amino alcohols derivatives from eugenol was evaluated in AGS (gastric cancer) and A549 (lung cancer) cell lines. The results show that some structural modifications resulted in enhanced cytotoxic activity towards cancer cells. In addition, the activation of caspase-3 and hence apoptosis induced by these molecules, was also explored. Considering the obtained results, some structure/activity relationships can be drawn, which may guide future structural improvements for anticancer agents.