7-Ethoxy-4-methylcoumarin

Pepper component 7-ethoxy-4-methylcoumarin, a novel dopamine D2 receptor agonist, ameliorates experimental Parkinson's disease in mice and Caenorhabditis elegans.[Pubmed:33007422]

Pharmacol Res. 2020 Sep 29:105220.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease resulting from the degeneration of dopaminergic (DAergic) neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNpc) and subsequent deficit of dopamine in the striatum. PD is inversely associated with consumption of peppers; however, the constituent and the underlying mechanism remain unclear. This study aimed to investigate the effects of 7-Ethoxy-4-methylcoumarin (EMC), a pepper constituent, on PD-like disorders in 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP)-induced mice and 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA)-exposed C. elegans. In this study, EMC was identified as an agonist of dopamine D2 receptor (DRD2) and increased the expression of P-CREB and BDNF in SH-SY5Y cells. In MPTP-treated PD mice, EMC was shown to apparently ameliorate the motor and gait disorders, and restore the depressed TH expression in SNpc and striatum. Meanwhile, it recovered the locomotor deficit caused by 6-OHDA in wild type N2 and CAT-2-transgenic UA57 of C. elegans, and relieved the degeneration of DAergic neurons resulting from 6-OHDA or with ageing. Moreover, EMC inhibited alpha-synuclein accumulation in C. elegans strain NL5901 overexpressing human alpha-synuclein gene. Taken together, EMC was identified as a novel DRD2 agonist and improved experimental PD in mice and C. elegans. These findings suggest that EMC may be beneficial to PD patients, further supporting that the consumption of peppers may have favorable effect on PD progression.

Free Radical-Scavenging Capacities, Phenolics and Capsaicinoids in Wild Piquin Chili (Capsicum annuum var. Glabriusculum).[Pubmed:30332792]

Molecules. 2018 Oct 16;23(10). pii: molecules23102655.

The total phenolic compounds content, free radical-scavenging capacity and capsaicinoid content in populations of wild Piquin chili (C. annuum) were studied. Aqueous and hydroalcoholic extracts from nine ecotypes were evaluated. High contents of phenolic compounds and free radical-scavenging capacities were observed for both extracts; however, the values that were found for the hydroalcoholic phase were substantially higher. LC-MS analysis allowed for the detection of 32 compounds, where apigenin-8-C-glucoside followed by vanillic acid 1-O-beta-o-glucopyranosylester (Isomer I or II) and 7-Ethoxy-4-methylcoumarin were the most widely distributed; they were found in more than 89% of the ecotypes. The diversity of identified phenolic compounds was different among ecotypes, allowing them to be distinguished by chemical diversity, free radical-scavenging capacities and heat Scoville units. The total capsaicinoid content was higher in Population I (23.5 mg/g DW) than in Populations II and III, which had contents of 15.3 and 10.7 mg/g DW, respectively. This variability could lead to phytochemical exploitation and the conservation of the natural populations of wild chili.

Simultaneous Analysis of Simple Coumarins and Furocoumarines in Cigarettes by Solid-Phase Extraction with Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry.[Pubmed:28425389]

J AOAC Int. 2017 Sep 1;100(5):1559-1564.

A sensitive, high-throughput analytical method based on a GC-MS method was established for the simultaneous quantitative determination of two categories of harmful coumarins: simple coumarins (coumarin, 6-methylcoumarin, 7-methoxycoumarin, 3,4-dihydrocoumarin, and 7-Ethoxy-4-methylcoumarin) and furocoumarines (psoralen, 8-methoxypsoralen, 5-methoxypsoralen, and trioxysalen). The nine analytes were extracted with ethyl acetate, purified with Oasis HLB solid-phase extraction (SPE) cartridges, and identified and quantitatively determined by GC-MS in selected-ion monitoring mode. The LODs and LOQs of these compounds were in the ranges of 12.5-21.2 and 41.6-70.0 mug/kg, respectively. Average recoveries for the nine analytes ranged from 72.7 to 86.6% at LOQ, 1.5x LOQ, and 2x LOQ spike levels, with RSDs that were typically lower than 5.1%. The SPE-GC-MS method developed in this study was initially applied to research coumarins in cigarette samples; it proved to be accurate, sensitive, convenient, and practical.

Analysis of fluorescence quenching of coumarin derivatives by 4-hydroxy-TEMPO in aqueous solution.[Pubmed:24337873]

J Fluoresc. 2014 May;24(3):713-8.

The fluorescence quenching of different coumarin derivatives (7-hydroxy-4-methylcoumarin, 5,7-dimethoxycoumarin, 7-amino-4-methyl-3-coumarinylacetic acid, 7-Ethoxy-4-methylcoumarin, 7-methoxycoumarin, 7-hydroxycoumarin, 7-hydroxy-4-methyl-3-coumarinylacetic acid and 7-amino-4-methylcoumarin) by 4-hydroxy-TEMPO in aqueous solutions at the room temperature was studied with the use of UV-Vis absorption spectroscopy as well as a steady-state and time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy. In order to understand the mechanism of quenching the absorption and fluorescence emission spectra of all coumarins along with fluorescence decays were recorded under the action of 4-hydroxy-TEMPO. The Stern-Volmer plots (both from time-averaged and time-resolved measurements) displayed no positive (upward) deviation from a linearity. The fluorescence quenching mechanism was found to be entirely dynamic, what was additionally confirmed by the registration of Stern-Volmer plots at different temperatures. The Stern-Volmer quenching constants and bimolecular quenching rate constants were obtained for all coumarins studied at the room temperature. The findings demonstrate the possibility of developing an analytical method for the quantitative determination of the free radicals' scavenger, 4-hydroxy-TEMPO.

Enhanced oxidative activities of cytochrome P450Rhf from Rhodococcus sp. expressed using the hyper-inducible expression system.[Pubmed:23886573]

J Biosci Bioeng. 2014 Jan;117(1):19-24.

Bacterial cytochrome P450 enzymes catalyze the oxidative biotransformation of various types of compounds. Although the functional expression of Actinomycetes P450 in a closely related heterologous host can serve as a useful biocatalyst in whole-cell biotransformation assays, the co-expression of an electron transfer partner is required. To overcome this limitation, P450Rhf from Rhodococcus sp. NCIMB 9784 is an ideal candidate, because it is fused to a reductase domain at the C terminus and does not require an electron transfer partner. Here, we cloned P450Rhf into the hyper-inducible expression vector pSH19 in Streptomyces lividans TK24 for developing an efficient whole-cell biotransformation system with bacterial P450. The recombinant strain displayed high conversion activity (79.1%) of 7-ethoxycoumarin to 7-hydroxycoumarin after 48 h, and the observed activity was markedly higher than those for 7-methoxycoumarin and 7-propoxycoumarin used as substrates. We next screened several commercially available substrates possessing an ethyl phenyl ether moiety, which is also present in 7-ethoxycoumarin, and found that 4'-ethoxy-2'-hydroxyacetphenone was almost completely dealkylated (95.0%), and that 7-Ethoxy-4-methylcoumarin was converted to two products, 7-hydroxy-4-methylcoumarin and 7-ethoxy-4-hydroxymethyl-coumarin. Our research suggests that enhancement of heterologous P450 expression using the pSH19 system in whole-cell biotransformation assays is valuable for identifying novel substrates of P450, as well as for obtaining high yields of conversion products.

Simultaneous determination of urinary metabolites of methoxypsoralens in human and Umbelliferae medicines by high-performance liquid chromatography.[Pubmed:16959122]

J Chromatogr Sci. 2006 Sep;44(8):473-8.

A high-performance liquid chromatography method has been developed for the determination of coumarins and furocoumarins (psoralens). Nine coumarins and furocoumarins are separated simultaneously on a Hypersil C(8) (25 cm x 4.6-mm i.d.) column with a gradient of methanol and acetonitrile aqueous solution as mobile phase at 1.0 mL/min with two-channel UV-vis absorbance detection. The limits of detection are 0.366, 0.219, 0.317, 0.440, 0.536, 0.300, 0.531, 0.531, 0.237, and 0.280 ng/mL for coumarin, 7-hydroxycoumarin, 7-methoxycoumarin, citropten (5,7-dimethoxycoumarin), 7-Ethoxy-4-methylcoumarin, psoralen, xanthotoxin (8-methoxypsoralen), bergapten (5-methoxypsoralen), isopimpinellin (5,8-dimethoxypsoralen), and imperatorin (9-isopenteneoxypsoralen), respectively. Human urine is analyzed 1-6 days after ingestion of the oral Chinese medicines. This lead to the conclusion that the concentration of coumarins and furocoumarins is higher than that of the control urine. The coumarins and furocoumarins are detected at 312 and 249 nm, respectively.

Approach to detect substrates suitable to measure the coumarin 7-hydroxylase (Cyp 2a-5)-structure-activity relationships.[Pubmed:8010881]

Arch Pharm (Weinheim). 1994 May;327(5):299-302.

Besides coumarin, which up to now has remained the most selective substrate for the coumarin 7-hydroxylase (Coh), 7-ethoxycoumarin, quinoline, 4-methylcoumarin, 7-Ethoxy-4-methylcoumarin, 7-ethoxy-4-ethylcoumarin, and psoralen are suitable for this enzyme. The quantification of the suitability of a substrate to selectively measure the coumarin 7-hydroxylase is achieved by a graphic method. Requirements for serving as a substrate of the Coh are bicyclic ring systems with an electron rich moiety.