Nine new amino acid derivatives of p-aminobenzoic acid (dipeptidomimetics of p-aminobenzoic acid) were synthesized straightly through unprotecting p-aminobenzoic acid with some amino acid esters aided by coupling agengts N,N’-diisopropylcarbodiimide (DIC) or N,N’-dicyclohexylcarbodiimide (DCC). This method avoids the multi-step procedure which protects the amino group previously and then removes the protecting group of p-aminobenzoic acid or reduces the nitro group, and thus has the advantages of mild reaction conditions, low cost, and high yields (78%～91%). The structures of these compounds were certi-fied by IR, 1H NMR, 13C NMR, MS and HRMS techniques. Preliminary bioassay test demonstrated that all of these compounds had low antidiabetic activity.

Key words: p-aminobenzoic acid, dipeptidomimetic, amino acid derivative, diabetes mellitus, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor response element (PPRE)