Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of Novel Steroidal 5α,8α-Endoperoxide Derivatives with Aromatic Hydrazone Side Chain as Potential Anticancer Agents

Seven new steroidal 5α,8α-endoperoxide derivatives with C-17 aromatic hydrazone side chain were synthesized. Structures of the synthesized compounds were characterized by IR, 1H NMR, 13C NMR, and mass spectrometry. Anti-proliferative activities of the synthesized compounds were evaluated in vitro by the MTT method. Among the seven compounds, 5α,8α-epidioxy-17-(4-chloro-benzylidene)-hydrazonoandrost-3β-ol showed the strongest anti-proliferative activity against three human cancer cell lines (MCF-7, HepG2, and SK-Hep1).