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Scutellarin (1) possesses protective effects against neuronal injury, while 6-O-methyl-scutellarein (3), as the main metabolite of scutellarin in vivo, has not been reported about its protective effects previously. The present study mainly investigated whether the neural injury caused by ischemia/reperfusion would be influenced by different doses of 6-O-methyl-scutellarein (3). The results of behavioral, neurological, and histological examinations indicated that 6-O-methyl-scutellarein (3) could improve neuronal injury, and exhibit significant difference among the various doses. More importantly, 6-O-methyl-scutellarein (3) had better protective effects than scutellarin in rat cerebral ischemia.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder, which is complex and progressive; it has not only threatened the health of elderly people, but also burdened the whole social medical and health system. The available therapy for AD is limited and the efficacy remains unsatisfactory. In view of the prevalence and expected increase in the incidence of AD, the design and development of efficacious and safe anti-AD agents has become a hotspot in the field of pharmaceutical research. Due to the multifactorial etiology of AD, the multitarget-directed ligands (MTDLs) approach is promising in search for new drugs for AD. Tacrine, which is the first acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitor, has been selected as the ideal active fragment because of its simple structure, clear activity, and its superiority in the structural modification, thus it could be introduced into the overall molecular skeletons of the multi-target-directed anti-AD agents. In this review, we have summarized the recent advances (2012 to the present) in the chemical modification of tacrine, which could provide the reference for the further study of novel multi-target-directed tacrine derivatives to treat AD.

Scutellarin ( 1 ) has been widely used to treat acute cerebral infarction in clinic, but poor aqueous solubility decreases its bioavailability. Interestingly, scutellarin ( 1 ) could be metabolized into scutellarein ( 2 ) in vivo. In this study, a sulfonic group was introduced at position C-8 of scutellarein ( 2 ) to enhance the aqueous solubility of the obtained derivative ( 3 ). DPPH (1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl)-radical scavenging ability and antithrombic activity were also conducted to determine its bioactivity. The result showed that scutellarein derivate ( 3 ) could be a better agent for ischemic cerebrovascular disease treatment., Competing Interests: All authors declare no financial/commercial conflict of interests.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder which usually occurs in the elderly. The accumulation of β-amyloid and the formation of neurofibrillary tangles are considered as the main pathogenies of AD. Research suggests that β-secretase 1 (BACE1) plays an important role in the formation of β-amyloid. Discovery of new BACE1 inhibitors has become a significant method to slow down the progression of AD or even cure this kind of disease. This review summarizes the different types and the structural modification of these new BACE1 inhibitors.

Context Scutellarin (1) has been widely used in China to treat acute cerebral infarction and paralysis induced by cerebrovascular diseases. However, scutellarin (1) has unstable metabolic characteristics. Objective The metabolic profile of 6-O-scutellarein was studied to determine its metabolic stability in vivo. Materials and methods In this study, a method of UFLC/Q-TOF MS was used to study the 6-O-methyl-scutellarein metabolites in rat plasma, urine, bile and faeces after oral administration of 6-O-methyl-scutellarein (3). One hour after oral administration of 6-O-methyl-scutellarein (3) (34 mg/kg), approximately 1 mL blood samples were collected in EP tubes from all groups. Bile, urine and faeces samples were collected from eight SD rats during 0-24 h after oral administration. The mass defect filtering, dynamic background subtraction and information dependent acquisition techniques were also used to identify the 6-O-methyl-scutellarein metabolites. Results The parent compound 6-O-methyl-scutellarein (3) was found in rat urine, plasma, bile and faeces. The glucuronide conjugate of 6-O-methyl-scutellarein (M1, M2), diglucuronide conjugate of 6-O-methyl-scutellarein (M3), sulphate conjugate of 6-O-methyl-scutellarein (M4), glucuronide and sulphate conjugate of 6-O-methyl-scutellarein (M5), methylated conjugate of 6-O-methyl-scutellarein (M6) were detected in rat urine. M1, M2 and M3 were detected in rat bile. M1 was found in rat plasma and M7 was detected in faeces. Discussion and conclusion Because the parent compound 6-O-methyl-scutellarein (3) was found in rat urine, plasma, bile and faeces, we speculate that 6-O-methyl-scutellarein (3) had good metabolic stability in vivo. This warrants further study to develop it as a promising candidate for the treatment of ischemic cerebrovascular disease.

Three series of scutellarein derivatives have been designed and synthesized based on metabolic mechanism of scutellarin (1) in vivo. Their thrombin inhibition activities were tested through the analyzation of prothrombin time (PT), activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT), thrombin time (TT), and fibrinogen (FIB). The antioxidant activities of these target products were assessed by 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical (DPPH) assay and the ability to protect PC12 cells against H2 O2 -induced cytotoxicity, and their solubilities were evaluated by ultraviolet (UV) spectrophotometer. The results showed that the two isopropyl groups substituted derivative (18c) demonstrated stronger anticoagulant activity, better water solubility, and good antioxidant activity compared with scutellarein (2), which warrants further development of 18c as a promising agent for ischemic cerebrovascular disease treatment., (© 2016 John Wiley & Sons A/S.)

Scutellarein (2), which is an important in vivo metabolite of scutellarin (1), was synthesized from 3,4,5-trimethoxyphenol (3) in high yield in four steps. This strategy relies on acetylation, aldolization, cyclization and hydrolysis reactions, respectively.

Scutellarin (1) could be hydrolyzed into scutellarein (2) in vivo and then converted into methylated, sulfated and glucuronidated forms. In order to investigate the biological activities of these methylated metabolites, eight methylated analogs of scutellarein (2) were synthesized via semi-synthetic methods. The antithrombotic activities of these compounds were evaluated through the analyzation of prothrombin time (PT), activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT), thrombin time (TT) and fibrinogen (FIB). Their antioxidant activities were assessed by measuring their scavenging capacities toward 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical (DPPH) and the ability to protect PC12 cells against H2O2-induced cytotoxicity. Furthermore, the physicochemical properties of these compounds including aqueous solubility and lipophilicity were also investigated. The results showed that 6-O-methylscutellarein (5) demonstrated potent antithrombotic activity, stronger antioxidant activity and balanced solubility and permeability compared with scutellarin (1), which warrants further development of 5 as a promising lead for the treatment of ischemic cerebrovascular disease., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

In order to improve the biological activity and water solubility of scutellarin (1), some derivatives of its main metabolite (scutellarein) were designed and synthesized. All the compounds were tested for their thrombin inhibition activity through the analyzation of thrombin time (TT), activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT), prothrombin time (PT) and fibrinogen (FIB). Their antioxidant activities were assessed by measuring their scavenging capacities toward 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical (DPPH) and the ability to protect PC12 cells against H2O2-induced cytotoxicity, their water solubility were also assessed by ultraviolet (UV) spectrophotometer. The results showed that compound 8b demonstrated stronger anticoagulant and antioxidant activity, better water solubility compared with scutellarein (2), which warrants it as a promising agent for the treatment of ischemic cerebrovascular disease., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The binding abilities of scutellarin (Scu) and scutellarein (Scue) with bovine serum albumin (BSA) were investigated using equilibrium dialysis, high performance liquid chromatography, fluorescence spectroscopy, competitive site marker and molecular docking. The results showed that the average protein binding ratios of Scu and Scue with BSA were (79.85 ± 1.83) and (85.49 ± 1.21) % respectively. Under simulated physiological conditions, the fluorescence data indicated that Scu and Scue bound with BSA through a static mechanism. The thermodynamic parameters indicated that the interactions of Scu-BSA and Scue-BSA mainly occurred by van der Waals forces and hydrogen bonds and it was easier for Scue to bind with BSA than Scu, indicating that the glucuronic acid molecule in Scu decreased the binding affinity. Site competitive marker experiments showed that the binding sites of Scu and Scue mainly located within the sub-domain IIA of BSA. Furthermore, molecular docking studies indicated that one BSA could bind three Scue, while one BSA could carry only two Scu. All these results clearly indicated the interactions of Scu and Scue with BSA, which will lay the foundation for further research to determine the pharmacology and pharmacodynamics of Scu and Scue for treating ischemic cerebrovascular disease.

In this paper, a new and efficient synthesis of 6-O-methylscutellarein (3), the major metabolite of the natural medicine scutellarin, is reported. Two hydroxyl groups at C-4' and C-7 in 2 were selectively protected by chloromethyl methyl ether after the reaction conditions were optimized, then 6-O-methyl-scutellarein (3) was produced in high yield after methylation of the hydroxyl group at C-6 and subsequent deprotection of the two methyl ether groups.

Scutellarin (1) has been used for the treatment of angina pectoris, cerebral infarction and coronary heart disease with a large market share in China. Pharmacokinetic studies on scutellarin showed that scutellarin (1) is readily converted into its metabolites in vivo. In this paper, a new and practical synthetic method for the synthesis of 6-O-methyl-scutellarein (3) (one metabolite of scutellarin in vivo) is reported. The benzyl bromide was firstly used to selectively replace the acetyl group at C-7 in 7, and was then used to protect the hydroxy groups at C-4' in 10, 6-O-methyl-scutellarein (3) is obtained in high yield through these methods.

O-Alkylated quercetin analogs were synthesized and their anticancer activities were assessed by a high-throughout screening (HTS) method. The structure-activity relationships (SAR) showed that introduction of long alkyl chain such as propyl group at the C-3 OH position or short alkyl chain such as ethyl group at the C-4' OH position were very important for keeping inhibitory activities against the 16 cancer cell lines. Furthermore, when the two n-butyl groups were introduced into the C-3, C-7 or C-4', C-7 positions, the anticancer activity was enhanced., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)