Synthesis of benzamide derivatives of anacardic acid and their cytotoxic activity.

Several benzamide derivatives were synthesized from anacardic acid (1a) which was the product of hydrogenation of the naturally occurring anacardic acid mixture (1a-d), a major constituent of cashew nut shell liquid. Anacardic acid (1a) was first alkylated followed by hydrolysis of the ester to obtain synthones namely, 2-ethoxy-6-pentadecylbenzoic acid (5) and 2-isopropoxy-6-pentadecylbenzoic acid (6). These salicylic acid derivatives were then coupled with a variety of anilines to obtain novel benzamide compounds (7-39).