Synthesis and biological evaluation of 4-chlorocolchicine derivatives as potent anticancer agents with broad effective dosage ranges

4-Chlorocolchicine derivatives were synthesized with a view of developing new anticancer agents. The derivatives were examined for their potent activities and effective dosage ranges in mice, as well as favorable metabolic stabilities. As a result, derivatives 37 and 40, bearing an α-hydroxyalkanoyl group on the C-7 amino function, were revealed to exhibit potent activities with broad effective dosage ranges.