In Vitro Anti-inflammatory and Antioxidant Activities of 3,5,4′-Trihydroxy-6,7-Methylenedioxyflavone-O-Glycosides and Their Aglycone from Leaves of Polygonum tinctorium Lour

Polygonum tinctorium Lour (indigo plant) has been regarded as a useful medicinal plant for traditional herbal medicine. The polyphenolic fraction of indigo leaves exhibited anti-inflammatory activities as determined by the suppressed synthesis of nitric oxide (NO) in cultured RAW264 macrophage cells. The acid hydrolysate of the fraction showed much more potent effect than the unhydrolyzed one. In sharp contrast, those fractions of indigo stems had almost no effect. 3,5,4′-Trihydroxy-6,7-methylenedioxyflavone (TMF)-O-glycosides and tryptanthrin were detected exclusively in the extracts of the leaves. The isolated flavonol species were furthermore tested for their anti-inflammatory activities against the synthesis of NO and prostaglandin E2 in the cultured macrophage cells. More potent anti-inflammatory effects were recognized with different aglycones of flavonols than their flavonol O-glycosides. Although the inhibitory effects of TMF were less effective than those of tryptanthrin, the levels of flavonol O-glycosides with TMF were much more abundant than those of tryptanthrin in the leaves. Oral administration of the fraction containing flavonol O-glycosides with TMF into mice revealed the detection of free TMF in the blood circulation, indicating that the aglycone moiety can be cleaved by digestive enzymes and absorbed in the gut. Alternatively, the assay of hydrophilic oxygen radical absorbance capacity revealed that the isolated species of flavonol O-glycosides with TMF and their aglycone had appreciable antioxidant activities. Taken together, our findings suggest that the predominant flavonol O-glycosides with TMF as an aglycone could be promising natural agents for the application to herbal medicine, nutraceuticals, and food additives.