Synthesis, In Vitro Anti‐Inflammatory Activity and Molecular Docking of Butyrate Benzophenone Compound

Abstract Twelve new butyric acid ester‐containing benzophenone compounds were synthesized by Friedel‐Crafts acylation reaction, Esterification reaction and Clemmensen reduction reaction. Biological evaluation indicated that all compounds exhibit certain anti‐inflammatory activities against Lipopolysaccharides (LPS) induced inflammatory in mouse macrophages (RAW264.7). In particular, a novel compound,4‐[3‐ isobutyl‐4‐methoxy‐5 ‐(pyrrolidine‐1‐carbonyl)‐phenyl]‐butyric acid ethyl ester (7 g) showed the highest anti‐inflammatory activity with the IC 50 value of 18.60 ± 7.79 μM for nitric oxide (NO) which is better than that of the positive control Ibuprofen (IC 50 =37.6±6.9 μM ) and the positive control compound of COX‐2 inhibitor (IC 50 =47.2±0.4 μM ), indicating that it could be a potential candidate for further development as a anti‐inflammatory drug.