Scaffold Hopping of Pristimerin Provides Derivatives Containing a Privileged Quinoxaline Substructure as Potent Autophagy Inducers in Breast Cancer Cells

Pristimerin is a natural triterpenoid that has received much attention from medicinal chemists for its multiple biological activities. However, structural modifications of pristimerin, especially those aimed at discovering antitumor agents, are relatively limited. In this study, two series of pristimerin derivatives containing phenyloxazole and quinoxaline moieties, respectively, were designed via the scaffold hopping strategy. The target compounds were synthesized and analyzed for their cytotoxic activities