1-Acetyl-3,5-diaryl-4,5-dihydro(1H)pyrazoles: exhibiting anticancer activity through intracellular ROS scavenging and the mitochondria-dependent death pathway.

A series of 17 analogs of 1-acetyl-4,5-dihydro(1H)pyrazoles (JP-1 to JP-17) bearing two aromatic rings at positions 3 and 5, either of which ought to be heterocyclic, were synthesized and evaluated for their anti-proliferative potential against breast cancer (MCF-7 and T-47D) and lung cancer (H-460 and A-549) cell lines for the first time. JP-1–7, -10, -11, -14, and -15 were observed to exhibit significant anti-proliferative activity against MCF-7 cells. Some notions about structure–activity relationships are reported. The investigated compounds were found to lower the intracellular reactive oxygen species in the H2DCFDA assay and also caused mitochondria-dependent cell death in the MCF-7 cell line, indicating a plausible mechanism of their anticancer effect.