Authors: Ashley Staten
Mentors: Jennifer Meyer
Insitution: Utah Tech University
Pterostilbene, a natural product found in blueberries and nuts, has been shown to be multifunctional. In low doses, it has been shown to be a potent antioxidant, while in higher doses, it has been shown to reduce cell proliferation, induce autophagy, and increase apoptosis. Recent literature has indicated that derivatives of pterostilbene can improve the functionality of pterostilbene in both cancer cell viability (reduction) and antioxidant capacity (increase). Previously, our group has synthesized and characterized the antioxidant capacity of a select group of pterostilbene derivatives, which have been functionalized to contain an additional alcohol and amine group. Most recently, we have synthesized a derivative containing benzylamine as the amine. This amine was chosen as benzylamine and drugs functionalized with benzylamine groups have been shown to have antiapoptotic properties. Currently, we aim to further characterize this novel pterostilbene derivative as we believe it has the potential to be utilized as a therapeutic in various disease states such as cancer and type 2 diabetes.