Antioxidant Compounds from Cercis chinensis Bunge

摘要

Oxidative damage induced by reactive oxygen species (ROS) is believed to be associated with various degenerative diseases as well as aging. ' In our antioxidant screening for plant extracts, an EtOH extract of the stems and leaves of Cercis chinensis was found to scavenge the 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical, and to inhibit the iron-induced lipid peroxidation. The genus Cercis of the Leguminosae, comprising over 6 species, is most common in temperate Eurasia and North America. Flavonoids such as kaempferol, quercetin and myricetin, and their glycosides have been reported as constituents of this genus. C. chinensis, a deciduous shrub, is widely cultivated as an ornamental plant.5 The stem bark, root bark and stem of C chinensis have been used to promote blood circulation, and to treat dysmenorrhea, edema, bruising and various injuries. However, only a few studies on the chemical constituents have been carried out on this species. Moreover, there has been no report on the antioxidant activity. In vitro antioxidant guided fractionation of the EtOH extract led to the isolation and identification of twenty phenolic compounds including a new flavonol glycoside (1). In this report, we describe the isolation and structure determination of the new compound 1, and the evaluation on the antioxidant activity.