Syntheses of 5′-O-desmethylterphenyllin and related p-terphenyls and their inhibitory activity of TNF-α release from RBL-2H3 cells

The first total syntheses of 5′-O-desmethylterphenyllin and three related p-terphenyls have been achieved. The methodology features a Suzuki–Miyaura coupling reaction with a hindered aryl chloride as the key step. Two of the four synthesized 5′-O-desmethylterphenyllins exhibit moderate TNF-α release-inhibitory activity toward RBL-2H3 cells.