Synthesis of hydroxycinnamic acid glucuronides and investigation of their affinity for human serum albumin.

Hydroxycinnamic acids (HCAs) are among the most abundant dietary polyphenols. Recent bioavailability studies have shown that HCAs enter the blood circulation mainly as glucuronides, which are thus most likely to express their potential health effects. In this work, an efficient synthesis of HCA O-arylglucuronides is developed. As for many xenobiotics, the resilience of HCA O-arylglucuronides in plasma and subsequent delivery to tissues could be governed by their binding to human serum albumin (HSA). Hence, the affinity of HCA O-arylglucuronides for HSA and its possible binding site were investigated by fluorescence spectroscopy. HCA O-arylglucuronides turn out to be moderate HSA ligands (K in the range 1-4 x 10(4) M(-1)) that bind HSA in sub-domain IIA, competitively or noncompetitively with other sub-domain IIA ligands such as dansylamide and the flavonol quercetin.

Chemical synthesis of hydroxycinnamic acid glucosides and evaluation of their ability to stabilize natural colors via anthocyanin copigmentation.

This work describes the chemical synthesis of O-aryl-beta-D-glucosides and 1-O-beta-D-glucosyl esters of hydroxycinnamic acids. In particular, O-aryl-beta-D-glucosides were efficiently prepared via a simple diastereoselective glycosylation procedure using phase transfer conditions. Despite the lability of its ester linkage, 1-O-beta-D-caffeoylglucose could also be obtained using a Lewis acid catalyzed glycosylation step and a set of protective groups that can be removed under neutral conditions. Hydroxycinnamic acid O-aryl-beta-D-glucosides were then quantitatively investigated for their affinity for the naturally occurring anthocyanin malvin (pigment). Formation of the pi-stacking molecular complexes (copigmentation) was characterized in terms of binding constants and enthalpy and entropy changes. The glucosyl moiety did not significantly alter these thermodynamic parameters, in line with a binding process solely involving the polyphenolic nuclei.