A novel series of indole-3-alkanoic acids with varied N-benzyl substituents were synthesized as nonsteroidal inhibitors of steroid 5α-reductase. The structure-activity relationship in this series were studied and the optimum carboxylic acid side chain was butyric acid. Furthermore, compounds with a diaryl substituent at the 1-position of the indole ring displayed strong inhibitory activities in vitro. Amongst these derivatives, 4-[1-(6, 6-dimethyl ...
[Wyatt, Emma E.; Fergus, Suzanne; Galloway, Warren R. J. D.; Bender, Andreas; Fox, David J.; Plowright, Alleyn T.; Jessiman, Alan S.; Welch, Martin; Spring, David R. Chemical Communications, 2006 , # 31 p. 3296 - 3298]