Aucuparin

Planta. 2012 Jan;235(1):217-23.

Endogenous hydrogen peroxide is a key factor in the yeast extract-induced activation of biphenyl biosynthesis in cell cultures of Sorbus aucuparia.[Pubmed: 22086110]

Biphenyls are unique phytoalexins produced by plants belonging to Pyrinae, a subtribe of the economically important Rosaceae family. The formation of Aucuparin, a well-known biphenyl, is induced by yeast extract (YE) in cell cultures of Sorbus aucuparia. However, the molecular mechanism underlying YE-induced activation of biphenyl biosynthesis remains unknown.
METHODS AND RESULTS:
Here we demonstrate that the addition of YE to the cell cultures results in a burst of reactive oxygen species (ROS; H(2)O(2) and O(2) (-)), followed by transcriptional activation of the biphenyl synthase 1 gene (BIS1) encoding the key enzyme of the biphenyl biosynthetic pathway and Aucuparin accumulation. Pretreatment of the cell cultures with ROS scavenger dihydrolipoic acid and NADPH oxidase-specific inhibitor diphenylene iodonium abolished all of the above YE-induced biological events. However, when the cell cultures was pretreated with superoxide dismutase specific inhibitor N,N-diethyldithiocarbamic acid, although O(2) (-) continued to be generated, the H(2)O(2) accumulation, BIS1 expression and Aucuparin production were blocked. Interestingly, exogenous supply of H(2)O(2) in the range of 0.05-10 mM failed to induce Aucuparin accumulation.
CONCLUSIONS:
These results indicate that endogenous generation of H(2)O(2) rather than that of O(2) (-) is a key factor in YE-induced accumulation of biphenyl phytoalexins in cell cultures of S. aucuparia.

Chem Biodivers. 2009 May;6(5):774-8.

A new dibenzofuran and further constituents from the stems of Pourthiaea lucida with inhibitory activity on superoxide generation by neutrophils.[Pubmed: 19479843 ]

METHODS AND RESULTS:
A new dibenzofuran, lucidafuran (1), was isolated from the stems of Pourthiaea lucida, together with eight known compounds. The structure of this new compound was determined through NMR and mass-spectrometric analyses.
CONCLUSIONS:
Among the isolated compounds, lucidafuran (1) and Aucuparin (3) exhibited potent inhibitory activity against fMLP-induced superoxide (O(*-)(2)) production by human neutrophils with IC(50) values of 18.7+/-4.4 and 17.0+/-6.8 microM, resp.

Zhongguo Zhong Yao Za Zhi. 2008 Aug;33(16):1982-5.

Antioxidant xanthones from Securidaca inappendiculata.[Pubmed: 19086633]

To study the antioxidant constituents from the roots of Securidaca inappendiculata.
METHODS AND RESULTS:
The bioassay-guided isolation of antioxidant constituents was carried out by the column chromatographic techniques. The combination of IR, MS, NMR and 2D-NMR spectroscopics methods was used to identify their structures. Two new xanthones, 1, 2, 5-trihydroxy-6, 8-dimethoxy-9H-xanthen-9-one(1), 1, 5-dihydroxy-2, 6, 8-trimethoxy-9H-xanthen-9-one (2), along with seven known ones, 3, 8-dihydroxy-1, 4-dimethoxy-9H-xanthen-9-one(3), 4, 6-dihydroxy-1, 5, 7-trimethoxy-9H-xanthen-9-one(4), 7-hydroxy-1, 2, 3, 8-tetramethoxy-9H-xanthen- 9-one(5), 1, 7-dihydroxy-9H-xanthen-9-one(6), 4-hydroxy-3, 7-dimethoxy-9H-xanthen-9-one(7), 1,7-dimethoxy-9H-xanthen-9-one(8) and Aucuparin(9), were isolated from the roots of S. inappendiculata.
CONCLUSIONS:
Compounds 1 and 2 were new xanthones, and compound 3 was isolated as a natural product for the first time, and compounds 4 and 6 were isolated for the first time from this genus. The antioxidant activities of all compounds were evaluated by ABTS, FRAP and DPPH assays respectively. Compound 9 showed significant activity by the ABTS and FRAP assays. Compound 1 showed significant activity with IC50 value of 0.31 mg x L(-1) in DPPH assay. Scavenging capacity of all compounds determined by all assays were well correlated between ABTS and FRAP assay (r = 0.9555).