Inhibitory effects of lapachol derivatives on epstein-barr virus activation Original Research Article

Sixteen derivatives (2–17) synthesized from the naphthoquinone lapachol (1), were tested for their inhibitory effects on Epstein–Barr virus early antigen (EBV-EA) activation induced by 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA), as a test for potential cancer chemopreventive agents. They exhibited a variety of inhibitory activities from very high to moderate, which allow us to suggest structure–activity relationships. Ten of these derivatives are reported for the first time, their structures being thoroughly determined by spectroscopic methods.