Design and synthesis of novel pipernonaline derivatives as anti-austerity agents against human pancreatic cancer PANC-1 cells

Pipernonaline (1), one of the components of the spice pepper, preferentially reduced the survival of human pancreatic cancer PANC-1 cells under nutrient-deprived conditions witha PC50 value of 7.2 μM, suggesting that1couldpotentially lead to the development ofnew anticanceragents basedon theanti-austerity strategy. We have synthesized a total of 31 pipernonaline derivatives, revealing clear structure-activity relationships. Compound 9, which showed the strongest preferential cytotoxicity among synthesized derivatives, inhibited Akt activation and cancer cell migration, making it an extremely promising candidate compound for new pancreatic cancer agents based on the anti-austerity strategy.