Abstract

The synthesis of tetracyclic quinones 10a,b, 14a,b, 19a,b and 20a,b is described. The preparations involve regioselective Diels-Alder reactions via trapping the thiazole o-quinodimethane 9 with several benzofuranquinones and benzothiophenequinones. The structure of the regioisomers was assigned through 2D NMR 1H-13C HMBC experiments performed on 10a and 14a. Compounds 10a,b, 14a as well as phenol 1 and the starting quinones 2, 5, 7 and 15 are evaluated against Leishmania sp., Toxoplasma gondii and THP-1 cells. Almost all the tested compounds exhibit significant antiprotozoal activities with lower cytotoxicities than the reference compounds. Among them, quinones 2 and 14a possess the best activities towards L. donovani and T. gondii with the lowest toxicities. © 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.