Characterization of the cytotoxicity of selected Chelidonium alkaloids in rat hepatocytes.

Phytomedicinal preparations containing extracts of the plant Chelidonium majus (Greater Celandine) have been used in the therapy of upper abdominal disorders. C. majus alkaloids (CAL) were suspected to be responsible for reported cases of liver symptoms including cases of acute liver failure in patients upon treatment with certain C. majus preparations. Based on these reports, a safe oral daily dose limit of not more than 2.5 mg CAL was established in the EU. However, C. majus extracts and individual CAL were not able to elicit similar adverse effects when given orally to pigs or rats. We found that CAL differ considerably in their cytotoxicity in rat hepatocytes in culture. The cationic congeners chelerythrine, coptisine and sanguinarine were the most toxic ones (EC20 values ≤2 µM) while the neutral congeners chelidonine, dihydrosanguinarine and protopine were less toxic, with a rank order of toxicity of coptisine > chelerythrine > sanguinarine > chelidonine > protopine > dihydrosanguinarine. Calculation of octanol-water partition coefficients revealed that the most cytotoxic CAL in hepatocytes were the cationic polar ones. At cytotoxic concentrations sanguinarine led to a marked decrease in reduced and oxidized intracellular glutathione while the much less cytotoxic dihydrosanguinarine did not. After glutathione depletion with menadione, CAL toxicity was only slightly enhanced. Comparison of the cytotoxic concentrations to reported liver levels in experimental animals suggests that the latter were too low to cause hepatotoxicity, probably due to an extremely low oral availability of certain CAL.

Identification of a Water-Soluble Indirubin Derivative as Potent Inhibitor of Insulin-like Growth Factor 1 Receptor through Structural Modification of the Parent Natural Molecule.

Indirubins have been identified as potent ATP-competitive protein kinase inhibitors. Structural modifications in the 5- and 3'-position have been extensively investigated, but the impact of substituents in 5'-position is not equally well-studied. Here, we report the synthesis of new indirubin 3'- and 5'-derivatives in the search of water-soluble indirubins by introducing basic centers. Antiproliferative activity of all compounds in tumor cells was evaluated along with kinase inhibition of selected compounds. The results show the 3'-position to tolerate large substituents without compromising activity, whereas bulk and rigid substituents in 5'-position appear unfavorable. Screening molecular targets of water-soluble 3'-oxime ethers revealed 6ha as preferential inhibitor of insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor (IGF-1R) in a panel of 22 protein kinases and in cells. Consistently, 6ha inhibited tumor cell growth in the NCI 60 cell line panel and induced apoptosis. The results indicate that the 5'-position provides limited space for chemical modifications and identify 6ha as a potent water-soluble indirubin-based IGF-1R inhibitor.

Methylisoindigo and Its Bromo-Derivatives Are Selective Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors, Repressing Cellular Stat3 Activity, and Target CD133+ Cancer Stem Cells in PDAC.

Indirubin is an active component of the herbal ingredient 'Danggui Longhui wan', which was used for the treatment of inflammation and chronic myeloid leukemia in China. The recent study showed its derivative methylisoindigo (also known as meisoindigo) preferentially targeting cancer stem cells (CSCs) in interference with AMPK and LKB1, the cellular metabolic sensors. In this study, we screened the effect of meisoindigo on a panel of 300 protein kinases and found that it selectively inhibited Stat3-associated tyrosine kinases and further confirmed its activity in cell based assays. To gain a deeper insight into the structure-activity relationship we produced 7 bromo-derivatives exhausting the accessible positions on the bisindole backbone except for in the 4-position due to the space limitation. We compared their anti-proliferative effects on tumor cells. We found that 6-bromomeisoindigo showed improved toxicity in company with increased Stat3 inhibition. Moreover, we detected that 6-bromomeisoindigo induced apoptosis of 95% of CD133+ pancreatic cancer cells. Considering that CD133 is a common marker highly expressed in a range of CSCs, our results imply the potential application of 6-bromomeisoindigo for the treatment of CSCs in different types of cancers.

The Role of Indirubins in Inflammation and Associated Tumorigenesis.

Indirubin is the major active component of an herbal recipe 'Dangui Luhui Wan' () in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). It is widely used in China for the treatment of inflammation, cancer, and other chronic diseases and is known for good efficiency and very low side effects. Primary studies on the mechanism of action revealed that indirubin and derivatives are potent ATP-competitive inhibitors of CDKs and GSK3ß achieving IC50 values down to the low nanomolar range. However, the clinical application of indirubins is limited by the extremely poor water solubility (<1 mg/L in general) and consequently the insufficient bioavailability originating from strong binding forces in the crystal lattice. In the last few decades, a lot of efforts had been put into the structure optimization of indirubin derivatives binding selectively to specific kinases. Thus, a number of new indirubins have been developed bearing substituents mainly in the 5- and 3'-position suitable for improved solubility and inhibition against CDKs and GSK3ß, referred to as canonical indirubins. Interestingly, several noncanonical 7- and 7'-indirubin derivatives have been reported, showing a distinct binding model in the ATP-binding pocket and targeting a very different spectrum of protein kinases as seen from kinase profiling. In this chapter, we will review the field of indirubin research from its discovery, synthesis, chemical modification, structure-activity relationship, and mechanism of action to molecular targets comprising recent advantages and new findings in the context of inflammation-associated signaling pathways, in particular in tumorigenesis, including NF-κB, STAT3, TGF-ß, and AhR.

Crystal structure of glycidamide: the mutagenic and genotoxic metabolite of acryl-amide.

The title compound, glycidamide (systematic name: oxirane-2-carboxamide), C3H5NO2, is the mutagenic and genotoxic metabolite of acryl-amide, a food contaminant and industrial chemical that has been classified as being probably carcinogenic to humans. Synthesized via the reaction of acrylo-nitrile and hydrogen peroxide, it crystallizes with both enanti-omers occurring as two crystallographically independent mol-ecules (A and B) in the asymmetric unit. They have similar conformations with an r.m.s. deviation of 0.0809 Šfor mol-ecule B inverted on mol-ecule A. In the crystal, mol-ecules are linked by N-H⋯O hydrogen bonds, which lead to the formation of ß-sheet structures enclosing R 2 (2)(8) and R 4 (2)(8) loops. The ß-sheets are linked by weaker C-H⋯O hydrogen bonds, forming a supra-molecular three-dimensional structure.

Interim relative potency factors for the toxicological risk assessment of pyrrolizidine alkaloids in food and herbal medicines.

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) are among the most potent natural toxins occurring in a broad spectrum of plant species from various families. Recently, findings of considerable contamination of teas/herbal infusions prepared from non-PA plants have been reported. These are obviously due to cross-contamination with minor amounts of PA plants and can affect both food and herbal medicines. Another source of human exposure is honey collected from PA plants. These findings illustrate the requirement for a comprehensive risk assessment of PAs, hampered by the enormous number of different PA congeners occurring in nature. Up to now, risk assessment is based on the carcinogenicity of certain PAs after chronic application to rats using the sum of detected PAs as dose metric. Because of the well-documented large structure-dependent differences between sub-groups of PA congeners with respect to their genotoxicity and (cyto)toxicity, however, this procedure is inadequate. Here we provide an overview of recent attempts to assess the risk of PA exposure and the available literature on the toxic effects and potencies of different congeners. Based on these considerations, we have derived interim Relative Potency (REP) factors for a number of abundant PAs suggesting a factor of 1.0 for cyclic di-esters and open-chain di-esters with 7S configuration, of 0.3 for mono-esters with 7S configuration, of 0.1 for open-chain di-esters with 7R configuration and of 0.01 for mono-esters with 7R configuration. For N-oxides we suggest to apply the REP factor of the corresponding PA. We are confident that the use of these values can provide a more scientific basis for PA risk assessment until a more detailed experimental analysis of the potencies of all relevant congeners can be carried out.

Methylisoindigo preferentially kills cancer stem cells by interfering cell metabolism via inhibition of LKB1 and activation of AMPK in PDACs.

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) clinically has a very poor prognosis. No small molecule is available to reliably achieve cures. Meisoindigo is chemically related to the natural product indirubin and showed substantial efficiency in clinical chemotherapy for CML in China. However, its effect on PDAC is still unknown. Our results showed strong anti-proliferation effect of meisoindigo on gemcitabine-resistant PDACs. Using a recently established primary PDAC cell line, called Jopaca-1 with a larger CSCs population as model, we observed a reduction of CD133+ and ESA+/CD44+/CD24+ populations upon treatment and concomitantly a decreased expression of CSC-associated genes, and reduced cellular mobility and sphere formation. Investigating basic cellular metabolic responses, we detected lower oxygen consumption and glucose uptake, while intracellular ROS levels increased. This was effectively neutralized by the addition of antioxidants, indicating an essential role of the cellular redox balance. Further analysis on energy metabolism related signaling revealed that meisoindigo inhibited LKB1, but activated AMPK. Both of them were involved in cellular apoptosis. Additional in situ hybridization in tissue sections of PDAC patients reproducibly demonstrated co-expression and -localization of LKB1 and CD133 in malignant areas. Finally, we detected that CD133+/CD44+ were more vulnerable to meisoindigo, which could be mimicked by LKB1 siRNAs. Our results provide the first evidence, to our knowledge, that LKB1 sustains the CSC population in PDACs and demonstrate a clear benefit of meisoindigo in treatment of gemcitabine-resistant cells. This novel mechanism may provide a promising new treatment option for PDAC.

7,7'-Diazaindirubin--a small molecule inhibitor of casein kinase 2 in vitro and in cells.

Aza- and diaza-bisindoles were synthesized by coupling of 7-azaisatin, 7-azaoxindol, 7-azaindoxyl acetate, and their non-aza counterparts, respectively. Whereas 7,7'-diazaindigo (10) and 7,7'-diazaisoindigo (11) did not show antiproliferative activity in several human tumor cell lines up to 100 µM, 7-azaindirubin (12) and 7'-azaindirubin (13) were more active than the parent molecule, indirubin, in LXFL529L cells (human large cell lung tumor xenograft), and 7,7'-diazaindirubin (14) was exhibiting substantially enhanced growth inhibitory activity in these cells. In the NCI 60 cell line panel, 14 displayed antiproliferative activity preferentially in certain melanoma and non-small cell lung cancer cells. In contrast to the potent serine/threonine/tyrosine kinase inhibition observed for indirubins, kinase inhibition profiling of 14 in 220 kinases revealed largely a loss of kinase inhibitory activity towards most kinases, with retained inhibitory activity for just a few kinases. At 1 µM concentration, especially casein kinases CK1γ3, CK2α, CK2α2, and SIK were inhibited by more than 50%. In cell-based assays, 14 markedly affected CK2-mediated signaling in various human tumor cells. In MCF7 cells, 14 induced cell cycle arrest at G1 and G2/M and apoptosis, whereas CK2-deficient MCF7 cells were resistant. These findings reveal a novel key mechanism of action for 14, suggesting primarily CK2 inhibition to be causally related to growth inhibition of human tumor cells.

Determination of the alkylpyrazine composition of coffee using stable isotope dilution-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (SIDA-GC-MS).

A stable isotope dilution analysis based on gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis (SIDA-GC-MS) was developed for the quantitative analysis of 12 alkylpyrazines found in commercially available coffee samples. These compounds contribute to coffee flavor. The accuracy of this method was tested by analyzing model mixtures of alkylpyrazines. Comparisons of alkylpyrazine-concentrations suggested that water as extraction solvent was superior to dichloromethane. The distribution patterns of alkylpyrazines in different roasted coffees were quite similar. The most abundant alkylpyrazine in each coffee sample was 2-methylpyrazine, followed by 2,6-dimethylpyrazine, 2,5-dimethylpyrazine, 2-ethylpyrazine, 2-ethyl-6-methylpyrazine, 2-ethyl-5-methylpyrazine, and 2,3,5-trimethylpyrazine, respectively. Among the alkylpyrazines tested, 2,3-dimethylpyrazine, 2-ethyl-3-methylpyrazine, 2-ethyl-3,6-dimethylpyrazine, and 2-ethyl-3,5-dimethylpyrazine revealed the lowest concentrations in roasted coffee. By the use of isotope dilution analysis, the total concentrations of alkylpyrazines in commercially available ground coffee ranged between 82.1 and 211.6 mg/kg, respectively. Decaffeinated coffee samples were found to contain lower amounts of alkylpyrazines than regular coffee samples by a factor of 0.3-0.7, which might be a result of the decaffeination procedure.

Synthesis, topoisomerase-targeting activity and growth inhibition of lycobetaine analogs.

The plant alkaloid lycobetaine has potent topoisomerase-targeting properties and shows anticancer activity. Based on these findings, several lycobetaine analogs were synthesized mainly differing in their substituents at 2, 8 and 9 position and their biological activities were evaluated. The topoisomerase-targeting properties and cytotoxicity of these structural analogs were assessed in the human gastric carcinoma cell line GXF251L. Performing a plasmid relaxation assay, an increased inhibition of topoisomerase I was found with N-methylphenanthridinium chlorides bearing a 8,9-methylenedioxy moiety or a methoxy group in 2-position. Furthermore, quaternized phenanthridinium derivatives bearing either a 2-methoxy or a 8,9-methylenedioxy moiety in conjunction with a 2-hydroxy or 2-methoxy group display potent topoisomerase II inhibition as shown by decatenation of kinetoplast DNA. In general, the N-methylphenanthridinium chlorides possess more potency in inhibiting topoisomerase I than topoisomerase II. All quaternized derivatives also exhibited potent inhibition of tumor cell growth in the low micromolar concentration range. Hence, N-methylphenanthridinium compounds were found to represent a promising class of compounds, potently inhibiting both, topoisomerases I and II, and may be further developed into clinically useful topoisomerase inhibitors.

Dual inhibition of Janus and Src family kinases by novel indirubin derivative blocks constitutively-activated Stat3 signaling associated with apoptosis of human pancreatic cancer cells.

Constitutively-activated JAK/Stat3 or Src/Stat3 signaling plays a crucial role in tumor cell survival, proliferation, angiogenesis and immune suppression. Activated JAK/Stat3 or Src/Stat3 has been validated as a promising molecular target for cancer therapy. However, prolonged inhibition of Src family kinases (SFKs) leads to reactivation of signal transducer and activator of transcript 3 (Stat3) and tumor cell survival through altered JAK/Stat3 interaction. This compensatory feedback suggests that dual inhibition of Janus kinases (JAKs) and SFKs might be a promising strategy for targeting downstream Stat3 signaling in the clinic. In this study, we identify that the natural product derivative E738 is a novel dual inhibitor of JAKs and SFKs. The IC(50) values of E738 against recombinant JAKs and SFKs in vitro are in the ranges of 0.7-74.1 nM and 10.7-263.9 nM, respectively. We observed that phosphorylation of both Jak2 and Src was substantially inhibited in the submicromolar range by E738 in cultured human pancreatic tumor cells, followed by blockade of downstream Stat3 activation. E738 down-regulated expression of the Stat3 target proteins Mcl-1 and survivin, associated with induction of apoptosis. Computational models and molecular dynamics simulations of E738/Tyk2 or E738/Src in silico suggest that E738 inhibits both tyrosine kinase 2 (Tyk2) and Src as an ATP-competitive ligand. Moreover, the planar E738 molecule demonstrates a strong binding affinity in the compact ATP-binding site of Tyk2. In sum, E738 is the first dual inhibitor of JAKs and SFKs, followed by inhibition of Stat3 signaling. Thus, according to in vitro experiments, E738 is a promising new therapeutic agent for human pancreatic cancer treatment by blocking both oncogenic pathways simultaneously.

Indirubin derivatives modulate TGFß/BMP signaling at different levels and trigger ubiquitin-mediated depletion of nonactivated R-Smads.

Regulatory Smads (R-Smads), Smad1/5/8 and Smad2/3, are the central mediators of TGFß and BMP signaling pathways. Here, we screened indirubin derivatives, known kinase inhibitors, and observed strong interference with BMP signaling. We found that indirubin derivative E738 inhibited both TGFß and BMP pathways through ubiquitin-proteasome-mediated depletion of total R-Smad pools, although phospho-R-Smad levels were initially stabilized by GSK3ß and cyclin-dependent kinase inhibition. E738 also enhanced p38 and JNK phosphorylation, involved in Smad-independent TGFß/BMP signaling. Additionally, using a small siRNA screen, we showed that depletion of ubiquitin proteases USP9x and USP34 significantly reduced total R-Smad levels, mimicking E738 treatment. In fact, both USP9x and USP34 levels were significantly reduced in E738-treated cells. Our findings not only describe the complex activity profile of the indirubin derivative E738, but also reveal a mechanism for controlling TGFß/BMP signaling, the control of R-Smad protein levels through deubiquitination.

Metabolism of methyleugenol in liver microsomes and primary hepatocytes: pattern of metabolites, cytotoxicity, and DNA-adduct formation.

Methyleugenol (1) is a constituent of many foods, in particular of herbal spices, and is used as flavoring agent in foodstuffs and as fragrance in cosmetics. 1 has been found to be carcinogenic in rodents, its metabolite, 1-hydroxymethyleugenol (2) acting as proximate DNA-binding carcinogen. We incubated 1 with liver microsomes of rat, bovine, and human origin. We found 2, 3-hydroxymethylisoeugenol (3), and 6-hydroxymethyleugenol (4) as major metabolites, and 1-oxomethyleugenol (5), 3-oxomethylisoeugenol (6), eugenol (9), chavibetol (11), and (RS)-2,3-dihydroxy-2,3-dihydromethyleugenol (7) as minor metabolites. Methyleugenol-2,3-epoxide (8), probably the precursor of 7, could not be detected. Incubations with synthetic metabolites were applied in order to uncover metabolic pathways. Incubations with primary rat hepatocytes revealed mainly nonconjugated 2 and conjugated 4, and minor amounts of partly conjugated 7 and conjugated 9 + 11. The "reactive metabolites" 3, 5, 6, and 8 were not detectable, possibly due to rapid reaction with cellular macromolecules. The highest cytotoxicity (resazurin reduction assay and lactate dehydrogenase leakage assay) was observed for the main metabolite 2 and its secondary metabolite 5 with EC(50) values of 50 and 10 µM, respectively. Deoxyadenosine or deoxyguanosine adducts were formed by incubating 1 or metabolites with rat hepatocytes. The rank order of adduct formation was 2 > 1 > 3 > 6, whereas 4, 5, and 8 were inactive. In conclusion, we present a virtually complete pattern of microsomal (rat, bovine, and human) and hepatocellular (rat) metabolites of 1 suggesting the formation of several reactive metabolites possibly involved in carcinogenicity, organ toxicity, and immune reactions.

Indirubin derivatives induce apoptosis of chronic myelogenous leukemia cells involving inhibition of Stat5 signaling.

Indirubin is the major active anti-tumor component of a traditional Chinese herbal medicine used for treatment of chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML). While previous studies indicate that indirubin is a promising therapeutic agent for CML, the molecular mechanism of action of indirubin is not fully understood. We report here that indirubin derivatives (IRDs) potently inhibit Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription 5 (Stat5) protein in CML cells. Compound E804, which is the most potent in this series of IRDs, blocked Stat5 signaling in human K562 CML cells, imatinib-resistant human KCL-22 CML cells expressing the T315I mutant Bcr-Abl (KCL-22M), and CD34-positive primary CML cells from patients. Autophosphorylation of Src family kinases (SFKs) was strongly inhibited in K562 and KCL-22M cells at 5 µM E804, and in primary CML cells at 10 µM E804, although higher concentrations partially inhibited autophosphorylation of Bcr-Abl. Previous studies indicate that SFKs cooperate with Bcr-Abl to activate downstream Stat5 signaling. Activation of Stat5 was strongly blocked by E804 in CML cells. E804 down-regulated expression of Stat5 target proteins Bcl-x(L) and Mcl-1, associated with induction of apoptosis. In sum, our findings identify IRDs as potent inhibitors of the SFK/Stat5 signaling pathway downstream of Bcr-Abl, leading to apoptosis of K562, KCL-22M and primary CML cells. IRDs represent a promising structural class for development of new therapeutics for wild type or T315I mutant Bcr-Abl-positive CML patients.

Genotoxic potential of methyleugenol and selected methyleugenol metabolites in cultured Chinese hamster V79 cells.

Methyleugenol is a substituted alkenylbenzene classified by the European Union's Scientific Committee on Food as a genotoxic carcinogen. We addressed cytotoxicity, genotoxicity and mutagenicity caused by methyleugenol and selected oxidative methyleugenol metabolites in Chinese hamster lung fibroblasts V79 cells. Cytotoxicity was measured by two cell proliferation assays, water soluble tetrazolium salt (WST) 1 and sulforhodamine B (SRB) assays. Genotoxicity was determined by using single cell gel electrophoreses (comet assay) and the in vitro micronuclei test, while mutagenicity was investigated with the hypoxanthinephosphoribosyl transferase (hprt) assay. Methyleugenol and 1'-hydroxymethyleugenol showed no or marginal cytotoxic effects, but caused DNA strand breaks at concentrations ≥10 µM. The metabolites methyleugenol-2',3'-epoxide and 3'-oxomethylisoeugenol exhibited growth inhibitory properties with IC(50)-values of 70-90 µM after 48 h or 72 h of incubation. These metabolites significantly enhanced cytotoxicity and DNA damage after 1 h of incubation. Overall, no increase in formamidopyrimidine DNA glycosylase sensitive sites were detected with the comet assay. The metabolites 1'-hydroxymethyleugenol and methyleugenol-2',3'-epoxide exceeded the DNA strand breaking properties of the parent compound methyleugenol. However, only 3'-oxomethylisoeugenol and methyleugenol-2',3'-epoxide induced the formation of micronucleated cells in comparison to the negative control. These compounds were found to be not or rather weakly mutagenic at the hprt locus. In summary, phase I metabolites exceeded the cytotoxic and genotoxic properties of the parent compound methyleugenol.

N7-glycidamide-guanine DNA adduct formation by orally ingested acrylamide in rats: a dose-response study encompassing human diet-related exposure levels.

Acrylamide (AA) is formed during the heating of food and is classified as a genotoxic carcinogen. The margin of exposure (MOE), representing the distance between the bench mark dose associated with 10% tumor incidence in rats and the estimated average human exposure, is considered to be of concern. After ingestion, AA is converted by P450 into the genotoxic epoxide glycidamide (GA). GA forms DNA adducts, primarily at N7 of guanine (N7-GA-Gua). We performed a dose-response study with AA in female Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats. AA was given orally in a single dosage of 0.1-10 000 µg/kg bw. The formation of urinary mercapturic acids and of N7-GA-Gua DNA adducts in liver, kidney, and lung was measured 16 h after application. A mean of 37.0 ± 11.5% of a given AA dose was found as mercapturic acids (MAs) in urine. MA excretion in urine of untreated controls indicated some background exposure from endogenous AA. N7-GA-Gua adduct formation was not detectable in any organ tested at 0.1 µg AA/kg bw. At a dose of 1 µg/kg bw, adducts were found in kidney (around 1 adduct/10(8) nucleotides) and lung (below 1 adduct/10(8) nucleotides) but not in liver. At 10, respectively, 100 µg/kg bw, adducts were found in all three organs, at levels close to those found at 1 µg AA/kg, covering a range of about 1-2 adducts/10(8) nucleotides. As compared to DNA adduct levels from electrophilic genotoxic agents of various origin found in human tissues, N7-GA-Gua adduct levels within the dose range of 0.1-100 µg AA/kg bw were at the low end of this human background. We propose to take the background level of DNA lesions in humans more into consideration when doing risk assessment of food-borne genotoxic carcinogens.

Metabolism of methylisoeugenol in liver microsomes of human, rat, and bovine origin.

Methylisoeugenol (1,2-dimethoxy-4-propenylbenzene, 1) is a minor constituent of essential oils, naturally occurring as a mixture of cis/trans isomers. 1 is a U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved food additive and has been given "Generally Recognized as Safe" status. Previously, metabolism of 1 has been studied in the rat, revealing mainly nontoxic cinnamoyl derivatives as major metabolites. However, data concerning the possible formation of reactive intermediary metabolites are not available to date. In this study, the oxidative metabolism of 1 was studied using liver microsomes of rat [not induced, rat liver microsomes (RLM); Aroclor1254 induced RLM (ARLM)], bovine, and human (pooled from 150 donors) origin. Incubations of these microsomes with 1 provided phase I metabolites that were separated by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and identified by NMR and UV-visible spectroscopy and/or liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. Identity was confirmed by comparison with (1)H NMR spectra of synthesized reference compounds. Formation of metabolites was quantified by HPLC/UV using dihydromethyleugenol (10) synthesized as the internal standard. From incubations of ARLM with 1, seven metabolites could be detected, with 3'-hydroxymethylisoeugenol (2), isoeugenol and isochavibetol (3 + 4), and 6-hydroxymethylisoeugenol (5) being the main metabolites. Secondary metabolites derived from 1 were identified as the α,ß-unsaturated aldehyde 3'-oxomethylisoeugenol (6) and 1',2'-dihydroxy-dihydromethylisoeugenol (7). We were surprised to find that formation of allylic 6-hydroxymethyleugenol (8) was observed starting at approximately 30 min after the beginning of incubations with ARLM. HLM did not form ring-hydroxylated metabolites but were most active in the formation of 6 and 7. ARLM incubations displayed the highest turnover rate and broadest metabolic pattern, presumably resulting from an increased expression of cytochrome P450 enzymes. In conclusion, we present a virtually complete pattern of nonconjugated microsomal metabolites of 1 comprising reactive metabolites and suggest the formation of reactive intermediates that need more investigation with respect to their possible adverse properties.

Biological effects of acrylamide after daily ingestion of various foods in comparison to water: a study in rats.

SCOPE: Acrylamide (AA), classified as a genotoxic carcinogen, is generated by heating foods. We studied whether the food matrix modulates bioavailability and/or biotransformation and investigated kinetics and biological effectiveness of AA in rats. METHODS AND RESULTS: AA was given to the animals at a daily intake level of AA containing foods for up to 9 days, resulting in an exposure of 50 or 100 µg AA/kg body weight (b.w.)/day. Positive controls received the same dosages of AA in water, negative controls just water. As biomarkers urinary mercapturic acids, hemoglobin adducts, plasma levels of AA and glycidamide (GA) and DNA integrity in white blood cells and hepatocytes were measured. Altogether, no significant differences in bioavailability of AA from water and the different food matrices were observed. Only with bread crust, biomarkers indicated a slightly reduced bioavailability. Monitoring glycidamide valine adduct adducts did not provide evidence for treatment-related significantly enhanced GA-haemoglobin adduct formation in blood although glycidamide mercapturic acid excretion in urine indicated significant GA formation. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest AA at dietary intake levels, exceeding estimated human mean intake by a factor of at least 100 to become detoxified in Sprague-Dawley rats to a major extent through glutathione coupling.

Synthesis and cytotoxicity of novel indirubin-5-carboxamides.

Indirubins have been reported to act as potent inhibitors of protein kinases relevant to tumorigenesis and of tumor cell growth, but their development to antitumor drugs suffer from their poor water solubility. We synthesized a novel class of indirubin derivatives, indirubin-5-carboxamides, carrying amide substituents with basic centers. Quaternization or protonation of these alkylamino substituents provided indirubins with significantly improved solubility without loss of bioactivity.

Fate of 14C-acrylamide in roasted and ground coffee during storage.

Acrylamide (AA) is formed during heating of carbohydrate rich foods in the course of the Maillard reaction. AA has been classified as probably carcinogenic to humans. Storage experiments with roasted coffee have shown that AA levels decrease depending on storage time and temperature. In the present study the fate of AA lost during storage of roasted and ground (R&G) coffee was studied, using 14C-labeled AA as radiotracer. Radiolabel was measured in coffee brew, filter residue, and volatiles. In the brew, total (14)C-label decreased during storage of R&G coffee, while activity in the filter residue built up concomitantly. [2,3-14C]-AA (14C-AA) was the only 14C-related water extractable low molecular compound in the brew detected by radio-HPLC. No formation of volatile 14C-AA-related compounds was detected during storage and coffee brewing. Close to 90% of the radiolabel in the filter residue (spent R&G coffee, spent grounds) remained firmly bound to the matrix, largely resisting extraction by aqueous ammonia, ethyl acetate, chloroform, hexane, and sequential polyenzymatic digest. Furanthiols, which are abundant as aroma components in roasted coffee, have not been found to be involved in the formation of covalent AA adducts and thus do not contribute substantially to the decrease of AA during storage.