Use of acyl substituents to favour 2,3-epoxidation of 5,7-dioxygenated flavones with dimethyldioxirane

Galangin 3-benzyl-5-methylether derivatives function as an adiponectin synthesis-promoting peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ partial agonist

The upregulation of adiponectin production has been suggested as a novel strategy for the treatment of metabolic diseases. Galangin, a natural flavonoid, exhibited adiponectin synthesis-promoting activity during adipogenesis in human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells. In target identification, galangin bound both peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) γ and estrogen receptor (ER) β. Novel galangin derivatives were synthesized to improve adiponectin synthesis-promoting compounds by increasing the PPARγ activity of galangin and reducing its ERβ activity, because PPARγ functions can be inhibited by ERβ. Three galangin 3-benzyl-5-methylether derivatives significantly promoted adiponectin production by 2.88-, 4.47-, and 2.76-fold, respectively, compared to the effect of galangin. The most potent compound, galangin 3-benzyl-5,7-dimethylether, selectively bound to PPARγ (Ki, 1.7 μM), whereas it did not bind to ERβ. Galangin 3-benzyl-5,7-dimethylether was identified as a PPARγ partial agonist in docking and pharmacological competition studies, suggesting that it may have diverse therapeutic potential in a variety of metabolic diseases.

6-Hydroxy-5,7-dimethoxy-flavone suppresses the neutrophil respiratory burst via selective PDE4 inhibition to ameliorate acute lung injury

Over-activated neutrophils produce enormous oxidative stress and play a key role in the development of acute and chronic inflammatory diseases. 6-Hydroxy-5,7-dimethoxy-flavone (UFM24), a flavone isolated from the Annonaceae Uvaria flexuosa, showed inhibitory effects on human neutrophil activation and salutary effects on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced acute lung injury (ALI) in mice. UFM24 potently inhibited superoxide anion (O₂^•-) generation, reactive oxidants, and CD11b expression, but not elastase release, in N-formyl-l-methionyl-l-leucyl-l-phenylalanine (fMLF)-activated human neutrophils. However, UFM24 failed to scavenge O₂^•- and inhibit the activity of subcellular NADPH oxidase. fMLF-induced phosphorylation of protein kinase B (Akt) was inhibited by UFM24. Noticeably, UFM24 increased cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) concentration and protein kinase (PK) A activity in activated human neutrophils. PKA inhibitors significantly reversed the inhibitory effects of UFM24, suggesting that the effects of UFM24 were through cAMP/PKA-dependent inhibition of Akt activation. Additionally, activity of cAMP-related phosphodiesterase (PDE)4, but not PDE3 or PDE7, was significantly reduced by UFM24. Furthermore, UFM24 attenuated neutrophil infiltration, myeloperoxidase activity, and pulmonary edema in LPS-induced ALI in mice. In conclusion, our data demonstrated that UFM24 inhibits oxidative burst in human neutrophils through inhibition of PDE4 activity. UFM24 also exhibited significant protection against endotoxin-induced ALI in mice. UFM24 has potential as an anti-inflammatory agent for treating neutrophilic lung damage.

Short-step syntheses of naturally occurring polyoxygenated aromatics based on site-selective transformation

Wogonin and astringin were synthesized from inexpensive chrysin and piceid in short steps. The key feature of these syntheses is site-selective transformation. The target molecules were obtained in 27 and 62% yields from the starting materials, respectively.