A new domino oxidation—rearrangement of 2,3-dihydrowogonin to negletein

Crystal structures of the flavonoid Oroxylin A and the regioisomers Negletein and Wogonin

The flavonoid Oroxylin A (6-methoxychrysin or 5,7-dihydroxy-6-methoxy-2-phenyl-4H-chromen-4-one, C₁₆H₁₂O₅) and its regioisomers are of increasing interest for a variety of bioactive functions and their pharmaceutical formulation is of importance. Previous difficulties in the separation and misidentification of Oroxylin A from its regioisomers Wogonin (8-methoxychrysin or 5,7-dihydroxy-8-methoxy-2-phenyl-4H-chromen-4-one) and Negletein (5,6-dihydroxy-7-methoxyflavone or 5,6-dihydroxy-7-methoxy-2-phenyl-4H-chromen-4-one) render its full structural and powder X-ray characterization highly desirable. The low-temperature (100 K) crystal structures of Oroxylin A, Negletein and Wogonin sesquihydrate are reported for the first time. Wogonin crystallizes in two related but distinct hydrated forms. These have very similar powder diffractograms, indicating that such issues need to be addressed for its pharmaceutical formulation.

Rhamnocitrin isolated from Prunus padus var. seoulensis: A potent and selective reversible inhibitor of human monoamine oxidase A

Three flavanones and two flavones were isolated from the leaves of Prunus padus var. seoulensis by the activity-guided screening for new monoamine oxidase (MAO) inhibitors. Among the compounds isolated, rhamnocitrin (5) was found to potently and selectively inhibit human MAO-A (hMAO-A, IC₅₀ = 0.051 µM) and effectively inhibit hMAO-B (IC₅₀ = 2.97 µM). The IC₅₀ value of 5 for hMAO-A was the lowest amongst all natural flavonoids reported to date, and the potency was 20.2 times higher than that of toloxatone (1.03 µM), a marketed drug. In addition, 5 reversibly and competitively inhibited hMAO-A and hMAO-B with K_i values of 0.030 and 0.91 µM, respectively. Genkwanin (4) was also observed to strongly inhibit hMAO-A and hMAO-B (IC₅₀ = 0.14 and 0.35 µM, respectively), and competitively inhibit hMAO-A and hMAO-B (K_i = 0.097 and 0.12 µM, respectively). Molecular docking simulation reveals that the binding affinity of 5 with hMAO-A (-18.49 kcal/mol) is higher than that observed with hMAO-B (0.19 kcal/mol). Compound 5 interacts with hMAO-A at four possible residues (Asn181, Gln215, Thr336, and Tyr444), while hMAO-B forms a single hydrogen bond at Glu84. These findings suggest that compound 5 as well as 4 can be considered as novel potent and reversible hMAO-A and/or hMAO-B inhibitors or useful lead compounds for future development of hMAO inhibitors in neurological disorder therapies.

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.