Icariin: a special antioxidant to protect linoleic acid against free-radical-induced peroxidation in micelles

The objective in this work is to determine the antioxidant capacity and effectiveness of icariin (2-(4'-methoxylphenyl)-3-rhamnosido-5-hydroxyl-7-glucosido-8-(3'-methyl-2-butylenyl)-4-chromanone), the major component in herba epimedii being used widely in traditional Chinese medicine for the treatment of artherosclerosis and neuropathy, in which 2,2'-azobis(2-amidinopropane) dihydrochloride (AAPH)-induced peroxidation of linoleic acid (LH) in sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) acts as the experimental system. By containing an intramolecular hydrogen bond, icariin protects LH against AAPH-induced peroxidation of LH only in SDS, an anionic micelle. The number of trapping peroxyl radicals (LOO(*)), n, by icariin is just 0.0167 whereas alpha-tocopherol (TOH) and L-ascorbyl-6-laurate (VC-12) are 2.14 and 1.25, respectively, with reference to the n of 6-hydroxyl-2,5,7,8-tetramethylchroman-2-carboxylic acid (Trolox), 2.00. This is also related to how the intramolecular hydrogen bond enhances the bond dissociation enthalpy (BDE) of O-H in icariin. However, calculation of the inhibition rate constant, k(inh), a kinetic parameter to describe the reaction between the antioxidant and LOO(*), results in a k(inh) of icariin at about one magnitude larger than those of Trolox, TOH, and VC-12. This fact reveals that, by the view of kinetics, icariin is an antioxidant with much higher effectiveness. In addition, the antioxidant capacities of icariin used together with other antioxidants have been determined and the results indicate that the n of icariin decreases markedly while the n values of Trolox and TOH increase, even if the n of icariin is a negative value in the presence of VC-12. Furthermore, an analysis of k(inh) in this case reveals that the k(inh)(icariin) increases nearly one magnitude with the decrease of k(inh)(Trolox) and no remarkable change occurs for k(inh)(TOH). The negative value of k(inh)(icariin) in the presence of VC-12 can be regarded as the icariin functions as a prooxidant that can be rectified by VC-12 effectively. These findings implicate that the evaluation of antioxidant activity should not only focus on an n value, a thermodynamic possibility, but k(inh) and the charge property of the micelle should be also taken into account. To some extent, the latter factors are more important than the thermodynamic possibility.     

Antioxidative effects of flavonols and their glycosides against the free-radical-induced peroxidation of linoleic acid in solution and in micelles

The antioxidative effect of flavonols and their glycosides against the peroxidation of linoleic acid has been studied in homogeneous solution (tBuOH/H(2)O, 3:2) and in sodium dodecyl sulfate and cetyl trimethylammonium bromide micelles. The peroxidation was initiated thermally by the water-soluble initiator 2,2'-azobis(2-methylpropionamidine) dihydrochloride, and the reaction kinetics were studied by monitoring the formation of linoleic acid hydroperoxides. The synergistic antioxidant effect of the flavonols with alpha-tocopherol (vitamin E) was also studied by following the decay kinetics of alpha-tocopherol and the alpha-tocopheroxyl radical. Kinetic analysis of the antioxidative process demonstrates that the flavonols are effective antioxidants in solution and in micelles, either alone or in combination with alpha-tocopherol. The antioxidative action involves trapping the initiating radicals in solution or in the bulk-water phase of the micelles, trapping the propagating lipid peroxyl radicals on the surface of the micelles, and regenerating alpha-tocopherol by reducing the alpha-tocopheroxyl radical. It was found that the antioxidant activity of the flavonols and their glycosides depends significantly on the position and number of the hydroxy groups, the oxidation potential of the molecule, and the reaction medium. The flavonols bearing ortho-dihydroxy groups possess significantly higher antioxidative activity than those without such functionalities, and the glycosides are less active than their parent aglycones. The activity of the flavonols is higher in micelles than in solution, while the activity of alpha-tocopherol is lower in micelles than in solution. This is because the predominant factor for controlling the activity is the hydrogen-bonding interaction of the antioxidant with the micellar surface in the case of hydrophilic flavonols, while it is the inter- and intramicellar diffusion in the case of lipophilic alpha-tocopherol.     

Probing lipid peroxidation by using linoleic acid and benzophenone

A thorough mechanistic study has been performed on the reaction between benzophenone (BZP) and a series of 1,4-dienes, including 1,4-cyclohexadiene (CHD), 1,4-dihydro-2-methylbenzoic acid (MBA), 1,4-dihydro-1,2-dimethylbenzoic acid (DMBA) and linoleic acid (LA). A combination of steady-state photolysis, laser flash photolysis (LFP), and photochemically induced dynamic nuclear polarization (photo-CIDNP) have been used. Irradiation of BZP and CHD led to a cross-coupled sensitizer-diene product, together with 6, 7, and 8. With MBA and DMBA as hydrogen donors, photoproducts arising from cross-coupling of sensitizer and diene radicals were found; compound 7 was also obtained, but 6 and o-toluic acid were only isolated in the irradiation of BZP with MBA. Triplet lifetimes were determined in the absence and in the presence of several diene concentrations. All three model compounds showed similar reactivity (k(q) ≈10(8) M(-1) s(-1)) towards triplet excited BZP. Partly reversible hydrogen abstraction of the allylic hydrogen atoms of CHD, MBA, and DMBA was also detected by photo-CIDNP on different timescales. Polarizations of the diamagnetic products were in full agreement with the results derived from LFP. Finally, LA also underwent partly reversible hydrogen abstraction during photoreaction with BZP. Subsequent hydrogen transfer between primary radicals led to conjugated derivatives of LA. The unpaired electron spin population in linoleyl radical (LA(.)) was predominantly found on H(1-5) protons. To date, LA-related radicals were only reported upon hydrogen transfer from highly substituted model compounds by steady-state EPR spectroscopy. Herein, we have experimentally established the formation of LA(.) and shown that it converts into two dominating conjugated isomers on the millisecond timescale. Such processes are at the basis of alterations of membrane structures caused by oxidative stress.     

Involvement of type I and type II mechanisms in the linoleic acid peroxidation photosensitized by tiaprofenic acid

Analysis of the photomixtures resulting from irradiation of aqueous solutions of linoleic acid sensitized by tiaprofenic acid (TPA) or its major photoproduct (DTPA) by HPLC has shown the formation of all the four possible conjugated dienic hydroperoxides. According to laser flash photolysis experiments the rate constants for hydrogen abstraction from linoleic acid by the excited triplet states of TPA and DTPA are 2 x 10(5) and 3.2x 10(5) M(-1) s(-1), respectively. These data, together with the known rate constants for oxygen quenching of triplet (D)TPA and for the reaction of singlet oxygen with linoleic acid, show that the mechanism is mixed type I/type II. Finally, typical radical scavengers such as BHA and singlet oxygen quenchers such as DABCO and sodium azide are efficient quenchers of the triplet excited state of DTPA. This shows the risk of assigning mechanisms based on indirect 'evidences' using 'specific' additives.     

Studies on bio-antioxidants--prooxidation of vitamin E on the autoxidation of linoleic acid in sodium dodecyl sulfate micelles

The reaction of vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol) with linoleic acid containing peroxidized linoleic acid has been studied. No significant reaction was found in ethanol solution, whereas in sodium dodecyl sulfate micelles vitamin E reacted rapidly with peroxidized linoleic acid, and thereby induced the peroxidation of linoleic acid, leading to oxygen absorption. The reaction kinetics was studied in detail by u.v. spectroscopy, HPLC and ESR spectroscopy. It was found that the main product was alpha-tocopherone with alpha-tocopheroxy radical as the reaction intermediate. A mechanism involving two consecutive bimolecular reactions between peroxidized linoleic acid and alpha-tocopherol and between peroxidized linoleic acid and alpha-tocopheroxy radical, with rate constant 2.93 and 6.21 mol/L-1s-1 respectively is proposed. The micellar effect on the reaction is discussed.     

Mechanism of lipid peroxidation photosensitized by tiaprofenic acid: product studies using linoleic acid and 1,4-cyclohexadienes as model substrates

A careful study of the linoleic acid hydroperoxide (LOOH) profile obtained upon peroxidation of linoleic acid (LA) photosensitized by tiaprofenic acid (TPA) and analogous ketones has been undertaken to distinguish between type-I and type-II photoperoxidation mechanisms. 1,4-Cyclohexadiene and 1,2-dimethylcyclohexa-2,5-dienecarboxylic acid (CHDCA) have also been used as models for LA since they also have double allylic systems. Coirradiation of LA with TPA and decarboxytiaprofenic acid (DTPA) in acetonitrile and micellar media produced significant amounts of conjugated dienic LOOH. The cis,trans to trans,trans ratio depended on the irradiation time; thus, this parameter is an ambiguous tool for mechanistic assignment. An interesting finding was the decrease of the LOOH level after long irradiation times in mixtures photooxidized by DTPA, which is attributed to quenching of the DTPA triplet by the generated dienic LOOH. High-performance liquid chromatography analyses confirmed that the main pathway operating in photodynamic lipid peroxidation sensitized by (D)TPA is a type-I mechanism. However, product studies using CHDCA have clearly shown that a type-II mechanism is also operating and might contribute to the overall photooxidation process in a significant way.     

Practical enantiospecific syntheses of lysobisphosphatidic acid and its analogues

We describe a versatile, efficient, and practical method for the preparation of enantiomerically pure lysobisphosphatidic acid (LBPA), bisether analogues, and phosphorothioate analogues of LBPA from solketal. Phosphorylation of a protected sn-2-O-oleoyl glycerol with 2-cyanoethyl bis(N,N-diisopropylamino)phosphite, followed by oxidation and deprotection, generated the enantiomers of 2,2'-LBPA. The corresponding phosphorothioate analogues were obtained by oxidation with sulfur. The (R,R) and (S,S) enantiomers of both LBPA and phosphorothioate LBPA were synthesized from (S)- and (R)-solketal, respectively. The ether analogue of (S,S)-lysobisphosphatidic acid (LBPA) and its enantiomer were synthesized from the same enantiomer (S)-solketal by simply changing the sequence of deprotection steps.     

Antioxidant profile of ethoxyquin and some of its S, Se, and Te analogues

6-(Ethylthio)-, 6-(ethylseleno)-, and 6-(ethyltelluro)-2,2,4-trimethyl-1,2-dihydroquinoline-three heavier chalcogen analogues of ethoxyquin-were prepared by dilithiation of the corresponding 6-bromodihydroquinoline followed either by treatment with the corresponding diethyl dichalcogenide (sulfur derivative) or by insertion of selenium/tellurium into the carbon-lithium bond, oxidation to a diaryl dichalcogenide, borohydride reduction, and finally alkylation of the resulting areneselenolate/arenetellurolate. Ethoxyquin, its heavier chalcogen analogues, and the corresponding 6-PhS, 6-PhSe, and 6-PhTe derivatives were assayed for both their chain-breaking antioxidative capacity and their ability to catalyze reduction of hydrogen peroxide in the presence of a stoichiometric amount of a thiol reducing agent (thiol peroxidase activity). Ethoxyquin itself turned out to be the best inhibitor of azo-initiated peroxidation of linoleic acid in a water/chlorobenzene two-phase system. In the absence of N-acetylcysteine as a coantioxidant in the aqueous phase, it inhibited peroxidation as efficiently as alpha-tocopherol but with a more than 2-fold longer inhibition time. In the presence of 0.25 mM coantioxidant in the aqueous phase, the inhibition time was further increased by almost a factor of 2. This is probably due to thiol-mediated regeneration of the active antioxidant across the lipid-aqueous interphase. The ethyltelluro analogue 1d of ethoxyquin was a similarly efficient quencher of peroxyl radicals compared to the parent in the two-phase system, but less regenerable. Ethoxyquin was found to inhibit azo-initiated oxidation of styrene in the homogeneous phase (chlorobenzene) almost as efficiently (kinh = (2.0 +/- 0.2) x 106 M-1 s-1) as alpha-tocopherol with a stoichiometric factor n = 2.2 +/- 0.1. At the end of the inhibition period, autoxidation was additionally retarded, probably by ethoxyquin nitroxide formed during the course of peroxidation. The N-H bond dissociation enthalpy of ethoxyquin (81.3 +/- 0.3 kcal/mol) was determined by a radical equilibration method using 2,6-dimethoxyphenol and 2,6-di-tert-butyl-4-methylphenol as equilibration partners. Among the investigated compounds, only the tellurium analogues 1d and, less efficiently, 1g had a capacity to catalyze reduction of hydrogen peroxide in the presence of thiophenol. Therefore, analogue 1d is the only antioxidant which is multifunctional (chain-breaking and preventive) in character and which can act in a truly catalytic fashion to decompose both peroxyl radicals and organic hydroperoxides in the presence of suitable thiol reducing agents.     

Cytotoxicity and inhibition of lipid peroxidation activity of resveratrol/cyclodextrin inclusion complexes

Resveratrol (Res) is a plant-based polyphenol compound and is known to inhibit the growth of a variety of cancer cells and protect lipoproteins against oxidative damage. However the poor solubility and labile property may constitute a serious problem for its bioavailability. The problem could be overcome by the formation of inclusion complexes with cyclodextrins (CDs). The aim of this work is to include Res by β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) and 2-hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (HP-CD) to form the Res/β-CD and Res/HP-CD inclusion complexes and evaluate their cytotoxicity on cancer cells and inhibition of lipid peroxidation activity. The complexes are characterized by powder X-ray diffraction, fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The cytotoxicity of the two complexes has been evaluated by methylthiazoletetrazolium reduction assay on two cancer cell lines (cervical carcinoma cells HeLa and hepatocellular liver cancer cells Hep3B) and one normal cell line (umbililical vein endothelial cell HUVEC). The results showed that the two complexes exhibit high cytotoxicity on two cancer cells, especially for Hep3B, and show no significant effect on normal cells. The Res/HP-CD complex shows higher cytotoxicity on the two cancer cells than that of the Res/β-CD complex. The inhibition of lipid peroxidation induced by Fe²⁺/ascorbate of the two inclusion complexes has been determined by thiobarbituric acid assay. The inhibition rate shows a linear increase with the increase of CDs concentration, and the Res/HP-CD complex shows stronger inhibition activity than that of the Res/β-CD complex. The results of this work indicate a potential for using the Res/CD complexes to inhibit human cancer growth and lipoproteins peroxidation.     

Synthesis of methylated resveratrol and analogues by Heck reactions in organic and aqueous solvents

The Heck reaction under phosphane free conditions using oxime-derived palladacycles or Pd(OAc)₂ as catalysts is a general methodology for the synthesis of methoxylated (E)-stilbene derivatives. Couplings can be performed either with (dicyclohexyl)methylamine as base and TBAB in aqueous DMA or in neat water and with Et₃N as base in DMA in air and under thermal and microwave conditions. The arylation of different styrenes are performed with 3,5-dimethoxyiodobenzene to afford a series of important biologically active (E)-stilbene derivatives containing the 3,5-dimethoxyphenyl moiety, including resveratrol, piceatannol and pinosilvine, which are efficiently prepared with high regioselectivity and total stereoselectivity (TON up to 10⁴).     

Effect of micelles on the acid hydrolysis of N-phenylbenzohydroxamic acid

The effect of cationic (cetylpyridinium bromide and cetylpyridinium chloride) anionic (sodium dodecyl sulfate and lithium dodecyl sulfate) and non-ionic (Brij-35 and Triton-X-100) micelles on the acid-catalyzed hydrolysis of N-phenylbenzohydroxamic acid in 20 vol.% dioxane medium has been investigated. The kinetic results are explained by both pseudo-phase and Piszkiewicz cooperativity models.     

Preparation and characteristics of linoleic acid-grafted chitosan oligosaccharide micelles as a carrier for doxorubicin

The linoleic acid (LA)-grafted chitosan oligosaccharide (CSO) (CSO-LA) was synthesized in the presence of 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl) carbodiimide (EDC), and the effects of molecular weight of CSO and the charged amount of LA on the physicochemical properties of CSO-LA were investigated, such as CMC, graft ratio, size, zeta potential. The results showed that these chitosan derivatives were able to self-assemble and form spherical shape polymeric micelles with the size range of 150.7–213.9 nm and the zeta potential range of 57.9–79.9 mV, depending on molecular weight of CSO and the charged amount of LA. Using doxorubicin (DOX) as a model drug, the DOX-loaded CSO-LA micelles were prepared by dialysis method. The drug encapsulation efficiencies (EE) of DOX-loaded CSO-LA micelles were as high as about 75%. The sizes of DOX-loaded CSO-LA micelles with 20% charged DOX (relating the mass of CSO-LA) were near 200 nm, and the drug loading (DL) capacity could reach up to 15%. The in vitro release studies indicated that the drug release from the DOX-loaded CSO-LA micelles was reduced with increasing the graft ratio of CSO-LA, due to the enhanced hydrophobic interaction between hydrophobic drug and hydrophobic segments of CSO-LA. Moreover, the drug release rate from CSO-LA micelles was faster with the drug loading. These data suggested the possible utilization of the amphiphilic micellar chitosan derivatives as carriers for hydrophobic drugs for improving their delivery and release properties.     

Inhibition effects of 5-S-glutathionyl-N-beta-alanyl-L-dopa analogues against Src protein tyrosine kinase.

Twelve analogues of the antibacterial phenolic peptide 5-S-glutathionyl-N-beta-alanyl-L-dopa (5-S-GA-L-D, 1) were synthesized via orthoquinone using tyrosinase. Several synthesized compounds inhibited the v-Src autophosphorylation tyrosine kinase reaction with an IC50 value comparable to that of herbimycin A. The inhibition of c-Src substrate phosphorylation was much less active than v-Src autophosphorylation inhibition. 5-S-GA-L-D (1) and its analogous competed with peptide substrate and non-compared with ATP. The analogues showed no effects on substrate phosphorylation by epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), and this selectivity is the most characteristic feature of the 5-S-GA-L-D and its analogues (1-12).     

Aminophosphonic and aminophosphinic acid analogues of aspartic acid

4-Oxoazetidin-2-ylphosphonates and phosphinates, obtained from Arbusov reactions of 4-acetoxyazetidin-2-one and 4α-acetoxy-3β-phthalimido-2-one with a variety of phosphites and phosphonites, were hyrdolysed to β-phosphono- and β-phosphino β-alanine (phosphono- and phosphinoaspartic acid) derivatives. In model studies for their incorporation in peptides, conditions for the selective removal of protecting groups for carboxylic acids, phosphonic and phosphinic acids, and amines, in derived di- and tri-peptides were investigated. Alanyl and alanyl alanyl peptide incorporation into bacteria was studied.     

New synthetic routes to the kainoids: a synthesis of kainic acid and its analogues

New approaches to the synthesis of kainic acid and its analogues are presented. Two distinctly different approaches are described; the former utilised an intermolecular nitrile oxide addition to a homochiral substrate to furnish epikainate models and the second utilised amino acid chemistry to secure kainic acid.