Research on development of water soluble anti-cancer drugs is one of the great challenges of modern medicinal chemistry. Resveratrol (Res) is one of the many phytoalexins producing stilbenoids present in several medicinal plants, grape skin, peanuts, and red wine. It has been found to exhibit anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory, and anti-oxidant properties. Water solubility and bioavailability are some of the setbacks of this interesting compound. In view of this, effort has been made to synthesize amino acid derivative of resveratrol to improve its bioavailability and solubility in water. Methyl 4-{-[(1E)-2-(3, 5-dihydroxyphenyl)-ethenyl] - phenoxy} butyrate (7), a novel ester intermediate, has been synthesized and could be subjected to further chemical transformations to obtain amino acid derivatives.