Nowadays, there is an increase in the application of natural products for the prevention of different disorders or adjuvant substances next to pharmacological treatment. Phytochemicals include different chromone derivatives, which possess a wide spectrum of biological activity. The aim of the present study was the investigation of the antioxidant activity, cytotoxicity and oxidative transformation of nine chromone derivatives. First, we investigated the radical scavenging activity (ABTS), the oxygen radical absorption capacity (ORAC) and the ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) of the investigated molecules. The cytotoxic effects of the compounds were tested on H9c2 cell cultures by the MTT assay. Each compound showed a significant ORAC value compared to the reference. However, the compound 865 possess significantly higher FRAP and ABTS activity in comparison with the reference and other tested molecules, respectively. Based on these assays, the compound 865 was selected for further analysis. In these experiments, we investigated the oxidative metabolism of the compound in vitro. The molecule was oxidized by the Fenton reaction, artificial porphyrin and electrochemistry; then, the formed products were identified by mass spectrometry. Four possible metabolites were detected. The results revealed the compound 865 to possess good antioxidant properties and to be stable metabolically; hence, it is worth investigating its effects in vivo.
Keywords: antioxidants; chromone; cytotoxicity; flavonoids; oxidative metabolism.