The enone motif of (+)-grandifloracin is not essential for 'anti-austerity' antiproliferative activity.

We report the synthesis and biological evaluation of three analogues of the natural product (+)-grandifloracin (+)-1. All three analogues exhibit enhanced antiproliferative activity against PANC-1 and HT-29 cells compared to the natural product. The retention of activity in an analogue lacking the enone functional group, 9, implies this structural element is not an essential part of the (+)-grandifloracin pharmacophore.