Investigation of chemical constituents of safflower and their tyrosinase inhibitory activity

J Asian Nat Prod Res. 2019 Mar;21(3):248-256. doi: 10.1080/10286020.2018.1430775. Epub 2018 Jan 28.

Abstract

Investigation on bioactive chemical constituents of safflower led to the isolation of 10 compounds from the aqueous extract, including a new alkaloid (1), a new glucopyranoside (2), and 8 known compounds (3-10). The structures of two new compounds were elucidated on the basis of extensive spectral analyses, including 1D, 2D-NMR and HRESIMS. Biological research on the isolates indicated that compounds 3, 4 and 9 remarkably inhibited tyrosinase with IC50 at 0.11, 0.20 and 0.11 mM, respectively, compared with the positive control arbutin (0.26 mM). To investigate the interaction between enzyme and isolated compounds, an in silico docking study was carried out. The research provided valuable experience for phytochemistry and biological investigation on safflower.

Keywords: Safflower; docking study; glucopyranoside; tyrosinase inhibition.

MeSH terms

  • Carthamus tinctorius
  • Models, Molecular
  • Molecular Structure
  • Monophenol Monooxygenase / antagonists & inhibitors*
  • Plant Extracts / chemistry*
  • Plant Extracts / pharmacology*

Substances

  • Plant Extracts
  • Monophenol Monooxygenase