The present invention provides an antiproliferative compound having a structural formulawhere X and Y independently are oxygen, nitrogen or sulfur； R1 is alkyl, alkenyl, alkynyl, aryl, heteroaryl, carboxylic acid, carboxylate, carboxamide, ester, thioamide, thiolacid, thiolester, saccharide, alkoxy-linked saccharide, amine, sulfonate, sulfate, phosphate, alcohol, ethers or nitriles； R2 and R3 are hydrogen or R4； R4 is methyl, benzyl carboxylic acid, benzyl carboxylate, benzyl carboxamide, benzylester, saccharide or amine； and R5 is alkenyl； where when Y is nitrogen, said nitrogen is substituted with R6, wherein R6 is hydrogen or methyl. Also provided are methods for treating a cell proliferative disease and for inducing apoptosis in a cell comprising administering this compound is also provided.
