Ginkgolide B derivative synthesis and their effects on the viability of SKOV3 cells

The natural product Ginkgolide B was used as a raw material and modified by esterification on C10-OH or C1-OH to obtain 11 derivatives (1–11), which were structurally characterized with nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. An MTT assay-based in vitro tumor proliferation inhibitory activity test showed that compounds 2, 3, 6, 7, 10, and 11 exhibited strong inhibitory activity against the human ovarian cancer cells SKOV3, with IC50 values of 16.05 µmol/L, 15.65 µmol/L, 32.00 µmol/L, 63.30 µmol/L, 23.20 µmol/L, and 31.10 µmol/L, respectively. Annexin V/PI double staining assay showed that compound 2 induced apoptosis in SKOV3 cells to a slightly greater extent than GB and compounds 5 and 9, with an apoptosis rate of 31.68%.