Synthesis and in vitro inhibitory activity of matrine derivatives towards pro-inflammatory cytokines

Matrine, a sophora alkaloid, exhibited good anti-inflammation effects in our previous report. In the present study, a series of matrine derivatives were synthesized via classical Michael addition. Biological studies showed that the synthetic derivatives had good inhibitory effect towards TNF-α production and NFκB transcriptional activity. The introduction of various amino groups to the keto beta position could improve the biochemical profile, resulting in the identification of more potent derivates, such as 1f, with higher inhibitory activity than both matrine and sophoramine.