Design, synthesis and “in vitro” anti-leukemic evaluation of ferulic acid analogues as BCR-Abl inhibitors

Semi-synthetic modification of ferulic acid isolated from Salicornia brachiata was performed and the derivatives showed gratifying in silico binding scores with the BCR-Abl protein, comparable with imatinib. Anti-proliferative activity against K562, U937 and Hep G2 cancer cell lines and the BCR-Abl kinase inhibitory activity using an ADP-Glo assay were investigated. Compounds 2i and 3j were potent BCR-Abl inhibitors and were also active against K562 cells.