Novel tricyclic compounds having acetylene groups at C-8a and cyano enones in rings A and C: highly potent anti-inflammatory and cytoprotective agents.

Novel C-8a functionalized tricyclic compounds having cyano enones in rings A and C have been synthesized and biologically evaluated. Among them, compounds with acetylene groups at C-8a show extremely high potency in in vitro and in vivo bioassays for anti-inflammatory and cytoprotective activities. Both in vitro and in vivo potencies are markedly higher than those of 2-cyano-3,12-dioxooleana-1,9(11)-dien-28-oic acid (CDDO), which is being evaluated as an anticancer drug in phase I clinical trials.