Effect of new Berberine derivatives on colon cancer cells

Abstract

The plant alkaloid berberine has been recently described as a promising anticancer drug. In order to improve its efficacy, several derivatives have been designed and synthesized, and found to be even more potent than the lead compound. Among the series of berberine derivatives we have produced, we identified five compounds able to heavily affect the proliferation of two human colon carcinoma cell lines, i.e. HCT116 and SW613-B3. Remarkably, the active compounds are characterized by high fluorescence emission property and ability to induce autophagy.