Valéria de Oliveira

Bioconversion of quercetin and rutin and the cytotoxicity activities of the transformed products

Quercetin and rutin are well-know flavonoids. In spite of this, the comprehension of their metabolism is still incomplete. In this work, the cytotoxic activity of quercetin and rutin and its metabolites produced by metabolism of filamentous fungi was investigated. Flavonoids metabolism was monitored by HPLC and LC-MS. Both flavonoids were extensively metabolized. Quercetin was converted into metabolite methylquercetin (2) and quercetin glucuronide (3) and rutin into metabolite rutin sulphate (5), methylrutin (6) and rutin glucuronide (7). Cytotoxic effects of rutin, quercetin and its metabolites were measured by MTT tetrazolium reduction test and the trypan blue exclusion assay on HL-60 leukemic cells. The results showed similar concentration-dependent cytotoxic effect for rutin and rutin sulphate (5), while no cytotoxic effect was detected with the metabolites 6 and 7. In relation to the quercetin and its metabolites the results showed that all compounds have a similar concentration-dependent inhibitory effect on HL-60 cells. These findings corroborate the literature, showing that bioconversion is a useful strategy for production of biological active metabolites.

In vitro basal cytotoxicity assay applied to estimate acute oral systemic toxicity of grandisin and its major metabolite

Preclinical investigations can start with preliminary in vitro studies before using animal models. Following this approach, the number of animals used in preclinical acute toxicity testing can be reduced. In this study, we employed an in-house validated in vitro cytotoxicity test based on the Spielmann approach for toxicity evaluation of the lignan grandisin, a candidate anticancer agent, and its major metabolite, the 4-O-demethylgrandisin, by neutral red uptake (NRU) assay, on mouse fibroblasts Balb/c 3T3 cell line. Using different concentrations of grandisin and its major metabolite (2.31; 1.16; 0.58; 0.29; 0.14; 0.07; 0.04; 0.002 μM) in Balb/c 3T3-A31 NRU cytotoxicity assay, after incubation for 48 h, we obtained IC(50) values for grandisin and its metabolite of 0.078 and 0.043 μM, respectively. The computed LD(50) of grandisin and 4-O-demethylgrandisin were 617.72 and 429.95 mg/kg, respectively. Both were classified under the Globally Harmonized System as category 4. Since pharmacological and toxicological data are crucial in the developmental stages of drug discovery, using an in vitro assay we demonstrated that grandisin and its metabolite exhibit distinct toxicity profiles. Furthermore, results presented in this work can contribute to reduce the number of animals required in subsequent pharmacological/toxicological studies.

Selection of filamentous fungi of the Beauveria genus able to metabolize quercetin like mammalian cells

Microbial biotransformations constitute an important alternative as models for drug metabolism study in mammalians and have been used for the industrial synthesis of chemicals with pharmaceutical purposes. Several microorganisms with unique biotransformation ability have been found by intensive screening and put in commercial applications. Ten isolates of Beauveria sp genus filamentous fungi, isolated from soil in the central Brazil, and Beauveria bassiana ATCC 7159 were evaluated for their capability of quercetin biotransformation. Biotransformation processes were carried out for 24 up to 96 hours and monitored by mass spectrometry analyses of the culture broth. All strains were able to metabolize quercetin, forming mammalian metabolites. The results were different from those presented by other microorganisms previously utilized, attrackting attention because of the great diversity of reactions. Methylated, sulphated, monoglucuronidated, and glucuronidated conjugated metabolites were simultaneously detected.

Combination of docking, molecular dynamics and quantum mechanical calculations for metabolism prediction of 3,4-methylenedioxybenzoyl-2-thienylhydrazone.

AbstractIn modern drug discovery process, ADME/Tox properties should be determined as early as possible in the test cascade to allow a timely assessment of their property profiles. To help medicinal chemists in designing new compounds with improved pharmacokinetics, the knowledge of the soft spot position or the site of metabolism (SOM) is needed. In silico methods based on docking, molecular dynamics and quantum chemical calculations can bring us closer to understand drug metabolism and predict drug–drug interactions. We report herein on a combined methodology to explore the site of metabolism prediction of a new cardioactive drug prototype, LASSBio-294 (1), using MetaPrint2D to predict the most likely metabolites, combined with structure-based tools using docking, molecular dynamics and quantum mechanical calculations to predict the binding of the substrate to CYP2C9 enzyme, to estimate the binding free energy and to study the energy profiles for the oxidation of (1). Additionally, the computational study was correlated with a metabolic fingerprint profiling using LC-MS analysis. The results obtained using the computational methods gave valuable information about the probable metabolites of (1) (qualitatively) and also about the important interactions of this lead compound with the amino acid residues of the active site of CYP2C9. Moreover, using a combination of different levels of theory sheds light on the understanding of (1) metabolism by CYP2C9 and its mechanisms. The metabolic fingerprint profiling of (1) has shown that the metabolites founded in highest concentration in different species were metabolites M1, M2 and M3, whereas M8 was found to be a minor metabolite. Therefore, our computational study allowed a qualitative prediction for the metabolism of (1). The approach presented here has afforded new opportunities to improve metabolite identification strategies, mediated by not only CYP2C9 but also other CYP450 family enzymes. FigureWorkflow for metabolic investigation proposed in our work. (a) Proposed computational methods to improve drug metabolism studies using different levels of theory, showing the energy changes from substrate binding to product formation in CYP450-catalyzed drug metabolism. (b) Metabolic fingerprint workflow for complex matrix analysis from different species. Stage I: the preparation of the samples to be analyzed by LC-MS; Stage II: analyze the samples into LC-MS and treat the data; and Stage III: identify and quantify all detectable metabolites produced in vitro by filamentous fungi and discover the similarity across the species using PCA analysis

Structure-based prediction and biosynthesis of the major mammalian metabolite of the cardioactive prototype LASSBio-294

A new bioactive compound of the N-acylhydrazone class, LASSBio-294, was shown to produce a cardioinotropic effect and vasodilation. In this study, we report the structure-based drug metabolism prediction, biosynthesis and identification of the major mammalian metabolite of LASSBio-294.

Biotransformation of LASSBio-579 and pharmacological evaluation of p-hydroxylated metabolite a N-phenylpiperazine antipsychotic lead compound.

Using a combination of docking and molecular dynamics simulations, we predicted that p-hydroxylation by CYP1A2 would be the main metabolic pathway for the 1-[1-(4-chlorophenyl)-1H-4pyrazolylmethyl] phenylhexahydropiperazine, LASSBio-579 (3). As the result of a screening process with strains of filamentous fungi, Cunninghamella echinulata ATCC 9244 was chosen to scale up the preparation of the p-hydroxylated metabolite (4). About 30 min after i.p. administration of (3) to rats was identified as the p-hydroxylated metabolite, confirming our in silico previsions. Chemical synthesis of the metabolite was performed and allowed its pharmacological evaluation in binding assays revealing its high affinity for D2 and D4 receptors, indicating that this metabolite should participate to the antipsychotic effect of (3) in vivo. Furthermore, we report here that both (3) and its p-hydroxylated metabolite (4) have a much lower affinity than clozapine for two receptors involved in adverse reactions. Voltammetric assays were useful to understand the redox profile of (3).

Microbial β-glycosylation of entacapone by Cunninghamella echinulata ATCC 9245

The purpose of this paper is to describe the glycosylation of entacapone by cultures of Cunninghamella echinulata ATCC 9245. This method is then applied in toxicological and pharmacological studies. The cultures were grown in a fluid PDSM medium for 7 days at 28°C. After purification by silica gel flash column chromatography, the (E)-2-cyano-N,N-diethyl-3-(4-hydroxy-3-nitro-5-(3,4,5-trihydroxy-6-(hydroxymethyl)-tetrahydro-2H-pyran-2-yloxy)phenyl) acrylamide was identified by IR, mass spectroscopy and (1)H and (13)C NMR. The correct position and β-configuration of the glucose was determined through HSQC, HMBC and NOE experiments.

Determination of the cardioactive prototype LASSBio-294 and its metabolites in dog plasma by LC-MS/MS: application for a pharmacokinetic study.

In this work we describe the evaluation of the pharmacokinetics of a novel cardioactive compound of the N-acylhydrazone class, LASSBio-294, using high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) in dog plasma for the first time. Separation was achieved on a ZORBAX Rapid Resolution High Definition (RRHD) SB-C18 (50mm×2.1mm, 1.8μm) reversed-phase column at 20°C with methanol-10mM ammonium acetate solution (65:35, v/v) at a flow rate of 1.0mL/min. Detection was performed using an electrospray ionization (ESI) operating in positive ion multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode by monitoring the ion transitions from m/z 275.2→149.1 (LASSBio-294) and m/z 152.0→110.0 (acetaminophen, internal standard). The calibration curve of LASSBio-294 in plasma showed good linearity over the concentration range of 1.25-800ng/mL. The validated method was successfully applied to a pre-clinical pharmacokinetic study of the cardioactive prototype LASSBio-294 in beagles after oral administration. The main pharmacokinetic parameters t(1/2), C(max) and AUC(0-24) were (5.74±0.55)h, (547.66±35.12)ng/mL and (1621.77±41.66)ngh/mL, respectively.

Condensation of Ethyl Cyanoacetate with Aromatic Aldehydes in Water, Catalyzed by Morpholine

Synthesis of (E)-ethyl 2-cyano-3-phenylacrilate derivatives in water catalyzed by morpholine was investigated. The reactions were performed under green chemistry conditions.

Vasorelaxant activity of 7-β-O-glycosides biosynthesized from flavonoids.

In this work we report the vasorelaxant activity of 7-β-O-glycosides obtained with biosynthesis of naringenin-7-β-O-glycoside (3) and quercetin-7-β-O-glycoside (4). These compounds were obtained from naringenin (1) and quercetin (2) glycosylation catalyzed by Beauveria bassiana ATCC 7159. Screening of the best strain as a catalyst for glycosylation was carried out and the reaction conditions established. Cultures were grown in PDSM medium for 7 days at 27 °C. After purification by reverse-phase preparative HPLC, naringenin-7-β-O-glycoside (3) and quercetin-7-β-O-glycoside (4) were identified by (1)H and (13)C NMR. The right position and β-configuration of the glucose was determined through HSQC and HMBC experiments. The vasorelaxation potential of naringenin, quercetin and its glycosylated derivatives was evaluated using isolated aorta in vitro models. Interestingly, results suggest that vasorelaxation properties of naringenin, rutin and its glycosides are due to different pathways.