Antioxidant activities of licorice-derived prenylflavonoids.
- Author:
Hyo Jung KIM
1
;
Ji Yeon SEO
;
Hwa Jin SUH
;
Soon Sung LIM
;
Jong Sang KIM
Author Information
- Publication Type:Original Article
- Keywords: Antioxidant activity; licorice; dehydroglyasperin C; dehydroglyasperin D; isoangustone A
- MeSH: Animals; Benzopyrans; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular; Chronic Disease; Ethidium; Flavonoids; Fluorescent Dyes; Food Additives; Glycyrrhiza; Glycyrrhiza uralensis; Hep G2 Cells; Herbal Medicine; Humans; Isoflavones; Lipid Peroxidation; Rats; Reactive Oxygen Species; Singlet Oxygen
- From:Nutrition Research and Practice 2012;6(6):491-498
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:English
- Abstract: Glycyrrhiza uralensis (or licorice) is a widely used Oriental herbal medicine from which the phenylflavonoids dehydroglyasperin C (DGC), dehydroglyasperin D (DGD), and isoangustone A (IsoA) are derived. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the antioxidant properties of DGC, DGD, and IsoA. The three compounds showed strong ferric reducing activities and effectively scavenged DPPH, ABTS+, and singlet oxygen radicals. Among the three compounds tested, DGC showed the highest free radical scavenging capacity in human hepatoma HepG2 cells as assessed by oxidant-sensitive fluorescent dyes dichlorofluorescein diacetate and dihydroethidium bromide. In addition, all three compounds effectively suppressed lipid peroxidation in rat tissues as well as H2O2-induced ROS production in hepatoma cells. This study demonstrates that among the three phenylflavonoids isolated from licorice, DGC possesses the most potent antioxidant activity, suggesting it has protective effects against chronic diseases caused by reactive oxygen species as well as potential as an antioxidant food additive.
