Natural products pterostilbene (1) and 3-methoxy pterostilbene (2) were synthesized using 3,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid, hydroxybenzaldehyde or vanillin as the starting material. Wittig-Horner reaction is the key step of the synthetic route. Eight novel pterostilbene and 3-methoxy pterostil-bene-4-O-β-D-glycosides 3～10 were synthesized form 1 and 2 with corresponding α-acetylglycosyl bromicdes by glycosidation and deacetylation reaction. The synthetic procedure of glycosidation was modified by using dilute NaOH (aq.) in a solvent mixture of CHCl₃/H₂O and Bu₄N^＋Br^－ (TBAB) as a phase transfer catalyst. The structures of all compounds synthesized were determined by MS, ¹H NMR and IR techniques. 1 and 2 were evaluated for biological activity against four human cancer cell lines by the standard MTT method, and the results showed that they exhibited potent cytotoxicity against HL-60, SMMC-7721, and SK-BR-3 cancer cell lines.

Key words: pterostilbene, 3-methoxy pterostilbene, synthesis, glycosidation reaction, biological activity