Dimethyl bisphenolate inhibits ovarian cancer growth by regulating the PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway.

Ovarian cancer is a leading gynecological malignancy with a poor patient survival rate. The current therapeutic regimen primarily relies on chemotherapy. However, most patients experience relapse and develop chemoresistance. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop new anti-ovarian cancer compounds and scalable production processes. Dimethyl bisphenolate (DMB), a novel compound that we synthesized, is a phenolic acid derivative based on the neolignan backbone. The compound was produced by degrading and esterifying salvianolic acid B, the primary active ingredient in Salvia miltiorrhiza Bge. This study evaluated the anti-ovarian cancer activity of DMB through in vitro and in vivo experiments. DMB effectively inhibited the proliferation and migration of ovarian cancer cells in vitro. Mechanistic studies demonstrated that DMB suppresses ovarian cancer cell growth by regulating the PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway, impairing energy metabolism, and inducing cell cycle arrest and apoptosis. In vivo experiments further confirmed DMB significantly inhibited tumor growth in a human ovarian cancer nude mouse xenograft model. Overall, the significant anti-ovarian cancer effect demonstrated, the underlying mechanisms elucidated, and the scalable preparation technology established indicate that DMB is a promising therapeutic candidate for treating ovarian cancer.