Gossypol and 17 derivatives were tested as inhibitors of aldose reductase from human placenta. Gossypol and a number of the derivatives were potent inhibitors. The order of inhibitory activity was interpreted in relation to the Kador-Sharpless pharmacophor model for the aldose reductase inhibitor site. The structural but not the electronic aspects of the model were found to apply to this series of compounds.
[Dao, Vi-Thuy; Gaspard, Christiane; Mayer, Michel; Werner, Georges H.; Nguyen, Suong N.; Michelot, Robert J. European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 2000 , vol. 35, # 9 p. 805 - 813]