Naturally occurring biflavonoids with amyloid β aggregation inhibitory activity for development of anti-Alzheimer agents

Bioorg Med Chem Lett. 2019 Aug 1;29(15):1994-1997. doi: 10.1016/j.bmcl.2019.05.020. Epub 2019 May 14.

Abstract

Amyloid β (Aβ) aggregation plays an essential role in promoting the progression of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Therefore, the inhibition of Aβ aggregation is a potential therapeutic approach for AD. Herein, twenty-seven biflavonoids with different inter-flavonyl linkages and methoxy substitution patterns were isolated from several plants, and their Aβ40 aggregation inhibitory activity was evaluated by the thioflavin-T fluorescence assay. Amentoflavone (1) and its monomethoxy derivatives (2, 3, and 5) exhibited the most potent inhibitory activity, with IC50 values of approximately 5 μM. It was clarified that increasing the number of methoxy substituents on the biflavonoid structures attenuated the inhibitory activity. Moreover, the linkage and the methoxy substitution pattern had a marked influence on the inhibitory activity. Our investigation strongly supports that biflavonoids can be considered a new type of anti-Alzheimer agents that may be successfully developed for AD patients.

Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease; Amentoflavone; Anti-Alzheimer agent; Aβ aggregation inhibitory activity; Biflavonoid; Dementia.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Alzheimer Disease / drug therapy*
  • Alzheimer Disease / pathology
  • Amyloid beta-Peptides / antagonists & inhibitors*
  • Biflavonoids / chemistry*
  • Humans

Substances

  • Amyloid beta-Peptides
  • Biflavonoids