Three flavonoids were isolated from dried flowers of Sophora japonica using repetitive column chromatography and high-performance liquid chromatography. The flavonoids were identified as rutin (1), quercetin-3'-O-methyl-3-O-α-L-rhamnopyranosyl(1 → 6)-β-D-glucopyranoside (2), and quercetin (3) on the basis of spectroscopic analysis and comparison of values reported in the literature. These compounds inhibited the action of sortase A (SrtA) from Streptococcus mutans, a primary etiologic agent of human dental caries. The onset and magnitude of inhibition of saliva-induced aggregation of S. mutans treated with compound 1 was comparable to that of untreated S. mutans with a deletion of the srtA gene.
Keywords: Sophora japonica; Streptococcus mutans; cell aggregation; flavonoids; sortase A.