Enzymatic flavonoids

Enzymatic synthesis and biological properties of flavonoid polymers... 

We have designed not only polymerized flavonoids but also flavonoid conjugates of various polyamines, in consideration of extension of the amplification of physiological properties of the flavonoids. Polymeric flavonoids were synthesized by the enzymatic oxidative coupling. ... 

Identification of flavonoids Quantification of individual flavonoids depends heavily on the availability of standard references. Only a limited number of common flavonoids are commercially available as standards. Standard references for flavonoid glycosides are particularly difficult to find thus direct quantification of the native glycosides is nearly impossible. Analysis of the aglycones after acid or enzymatic hydrolysis is therefore common practice. When standard flavonoids are not available, or when unknown compounds are encountered in a particular fruit or vegetable, use of a DAD... 

The ability of flavonoids (quercetin and rutin) to react with superoxide has been shown in both aqueous and aprotic media [59,94]. Then, the inhibitory activity of flavonoids in various enzymatic and nonenzymatic superoxide-producing systems has been studied. It was found that flavonoids may inhibit superoxide production by xanthine oxidase by both the scavenging of superoxide and the inhibition of enzyme activity, with the ratio of these two mechanisms depending on the structures of flavonoids (Table 29.4). As seen from Table 29.4, the data obtained by different authors may significantly differ. For example, in recent work [107] it was found that rutin was ineffective in the inhibition of xanthine oxidase that contradicts the previous results [108,109], The origins of such big differences are unknown. 

Cytotoxic prooxidant effects of flavonoids can also be a consequence of their enzymatic oxidation. For example, it was found that quercetin was oxidized by lactate peroxide to form semiquinone and quinone [181]. 

Aherne GW, Hardcastle A, Valenti M, Bryant A, Rogers P, Pettit GR, Srirangam JK, Kelland LR (1996) Antitumour evaluation of dolastatins 10 and 15 and their measurement in plasma by radioimmunoassay. Cancer Chemother Pharmacol 38 225-232 Ahmad S, Pardini S (1990) Antioxidant defense of the cabbage looper, Trichoplusia ni enzymatic responses to the superoxide-generating flavonoid, quercetin and photodynamic furanocou-marin, xantotoxin. Photochem Photobiol 51 305-312 Amsler CD, Fairhead VA (2006) Defensive and sensory chemical ecology of brown algae. Adv BotRes 43 1-91... 

The objectives of the studies reported herein were to (a) compare the effects of a series of phenolic acids, coumarins, and flavonoids on whole chain electron transport and phosphorylation in Isolated plant chloroplasts and mitochondria and (b) identify specific sites of inhibition with polarographic and enzymatic techniques. Exploratory studies were conducted with the 20 compounds listed in Table I. The three glycosides are shown indented below the corresponding aglycones. Detailed studies were conducted with the six compounds, one representative member from each chemical family, designated with an asterisk. 

Enzymatic O-methylation of flavonoids, which is catalyzed by O-methyltransferases (E.C. 2.1.1.6-) involves the transfer of the methyl group of an activated methyl donor, S -adenosyl-L-methionine, to the hydroxyl group of a flavonoid acceptor with the formation of the corresponding methylether and S -adenosyl-L-homocysteine. The latter product is, in... 

Coumaroyl-CoA is produced from the amino acid phenylalanine by what has been termed the general phenylpropanoid pathway, through three enzymatic conversions catalyzed by phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL), cinnamate 4-hydroxylase (C4H), and 4-coumarate CoA ligase (4CL). Malonyl-CoA is formed from acetyl-CoA by acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC) (Figure 3.2). Acetyl-CoA may be produced in mitochondria, plastids, peroxisomes, and the cytosol by a variety of routes. It is the cytosolic acetyl-CoA that is used for flavonoid biosynthesis, and it is produced by the multiple subunit enzyme ATP-citrate lyase that converts citrate, ATP, and Co-A to acetyl-CoA, oxaloacetate, ADP, and inorganic phosphate. ... 

Sample extraction and hydrolysis details e.g., solvent extraction after freeze drying, with optimized acid or enzymatic hydrolysis Preparation of flavonoid standards and use of internal standards Chromatographic separation and detection method used, ideally RP-HPLC with UV or fluorescent detection Outline of quality assurance procedures employed... 

The electrophilic primary and secondary quinones undergo addition of nucleophiles, including flavonoids. For instance, nucleophilic addition of catechin to its enzymatically generated quinone yielded a catechin dimer in which the catechin moieties are linked through a C6 C8 biphenyl linkage. This B-type dehydrodicatechin further oxidized to yellow pigments. Additional dehydrodicatechins arise from radical coupling of the catechin semi-quinones formed by retro-disproportionation, in which the catechin moieties are linked... 

In addition to enzymatic oxidation, flavonoid oxidation can take place via autoxidation (metal-catalyzed oxidation by dioxygen) and ROS scavenging. The former process can be related to flavonoid cytotoxicity (ROS production) while the latter is one of the main antioxidant mechanisms. Both processes may be modulated by flavonoid-protein binding. Although poorly documented so far, these points could be important and, for instance, albumin-flavonoid complexes with an affinity for LDL could act as the true plasma antioxidants participating in the regeneration of a-tocopherol from the a-tocopheryl radical formed... 

Natural polyols have been used as substrates for the so-called combinatorial biocatalysis , a proposed approach to drug discovery [33]. For instance, complementary enzymatic regioselectivity was applied to produce a combinatorial library of 167 distinct selectively acylated derivatives of the flavonoid bergenin (11) on a robotic workstation [34]. Another lead compound, the antitumoral paclitaxel (12, a molecule with very low water solubility) has been similarly derivatized, initially exploiting the selectivity of the protease thermolysin for its side-chain C-2 OH. 

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