β-Elemene derivatives produced from SeO2-mediated oxidation reaction.

Herein, we report the first access of β-elemene derivatives through the SeO2-mediated oxidation reaction. Several new compounds were isolated through such a one-step reaction, and their structures were elucidated using various 2D-NMR techniques. This method provides easy access to multiple oxidative β-elemene derivatives in one single step and represents the first modifications on cyclohexyl ring of β-elemene. It is expected to open up the opportunity for future derivatization on cyclohexyl ring of β-elemene. The new compounds obtained above showed better anti-proliferation activities than β-elemene itself on several cancer cell lines. Among them, compound 17 shows the best activity in antiproliferation assays of A549 and U-87MG cell lines.