RESUMO
Cancer is ultimately the result of cells that hysterically grow and do not die. Cells can experience uncontrolled growth if there are mutations to DNA, and therefore, alterations to the genes involved in cell division. Cancer occurs when a cell's gene mutations make the cell unable to correct DNA damage and is unable to destroy itself. There are over 100 different types of cancer each classified by the type of initially affected cell. Isoniazid, a well-known antitubercular agent has been reported to exhibit some cytotoxic activity. This finding prompt us to carry out this study where isoniazid and its sixteen derivatives were studied for any possible cytotoxic activity against Human astrocytoma SNB-19 cells, human Dukes' type C colorectal adenocarcinoma HCT-15 cells, human Dukes' type D colorectal adenocarcinoma COLO-205 cells, and human prostate adenocarcinoma [grade IV] PC-3 cells. Among the test compounds, SN-07 [a phenacyl derivative with para phenyl substitution] demonstrated slight cytotoxic effects on two types of human colorectal adenocarcinoma cells HCT-15 and COLO-205. Moreover, the acute toxicity of the compounds was also estimated in which some compounds were evaluated with more LD[50] values than isoniazid