Synthesis and structure-activity relationships of antifungal crassinervic acid analogs

A series of analogs of the natural antifungal compound crassinervic acid, a constituent of Piper crassinervium, were synthesized to gain insight into the most relevant structural features affecting the activity of the parent molecule. Most compounds were prepared by aldol reaction of methyl 3-acetyl-4-hydroxybenzoate with a series of ketones, followed by reduction, hydrolysis, and oxidation. The antifungal activities of crassinervic acid and its analogs was assessed against Cladosporium cladosporioides by using the method of bioautography. The bioassay results allowed us to depict structure?activity relationships for this class of compounds.