Synthesis of ursolic acid arylidene-hydrazide hybrid compounds and investigation of their cytotoxic and antimicrobial effects

In this study, 13 new hybrid compounds (7a-m) were synthesised starting from ursolic acid, and their cytotoxic activities were investigated on the BEAS-2B and A549 cell lines. In addition, the synthesised compounds were tested against Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, and Candida albicans to determine their anti-microbial properties. The hybrid compounds that exhibited the lowest cytotoxicity against the BEAS-2B were 7k, 7b, and 7g. The cytotoxicity of the compounds against A549 was evaluated, the IC₅₀ value of 7k, 7b, and 7g are found as 0.15 µM, 0.31 µM, and 0.26 µM, respectively. The results showed that the selectivity of 7k was 7 times higher than doxorubicin against the A549 cells. According to the antimicrobial activity studies 7c is found as the most effective compound against S. aureus. Almost all compounds showed a similar inhibition potential against E. coli and C. albicans.