Semi-synthesis of a series natural flavonoids and flavonoid glycosides from scutellarin

Abstract Natural flavonoids and flavonoid glycosides exist in many plants and have been demonstrated to possess various clinically relevant properties, isolating large amounts of these compounds that have striking structural similarity from plant sources needs tedious isolation techniques. These processes limited their availability in structural diversity for structure−activity relationship (SAR) studies, and restrict large quantities for, as an example, their mechanistic evaluation of the in vivo activities. In this work, we developed a semi-synthetic strategy from scutellarin for the synthesis of a series of natural flavonoids and flavonoid glycosides. By taking this strategy, eight bioactive flavonoids with striking structural similarities were synthesized efficiently and practically. The sufficient amounts obtained products will greatly facilitate the SAR studies and mechanistic evaluation of the in vivo activities.