Inhibitory effects of fatty acid monoesters of 2-O-β-d-glucosylglycerol on Epstein–Barr virus activation

In a screening for cancer chemopreventing agents several glycosylglycerols were found to be active. In order to optimize the anti-tumor activity of this class of compounds, a series of 1-O-acyl-2-O-β-d-glucopyranosyl-sn-glycerols differing in the acyl chain length, which varied from C4 to C18, were examined for their in vitro anti-tumor promoting effects on Epstein–Barr virus early antigen (EBV-BA) activation induced by the tumor promoter 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA). Among the compounds tested, the monohexanoyl derivative was the most active and, noteworthy, the most potent compound of the glycosylglycerol series hitherto known.