Biotransformation of Liquiritigenin into Characteristic Metabolites by the Gut Microbiota

Molecules

Hao-Jian Zhang¹  Xin-Yu Yang¹  Meng-Meng Bu¹  Li-Bin Pan¹  Pei Han¹  Hang Yu¹  Jie Fu¹  Jia-Chun Hu¹  Yan Wang¹  Hui Xu¹  Jian-Dong Jiang¹  Zheng-Wei Zhang¹  Adili Keranmu²  Nian-Zeng Xing² 

[1] State Key Laboratory of Bioactive Substance and Function of Natural Medicines, Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences/Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100050, China;State Key Laboratory of Molecular Oncology, Department of Urology, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100021, China;

关键词: liquiritigenin;    gut microbiota;    liver microsome;    metabolites;   

DOI  :  10.3390/molecules27103057

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

The bioavailability of flavonoids is generally low after oral administration. The metabolic transformation of flavonoids by the gut microbiota may be one of the main reasons for this, although these metabolites have potential pharmacological activities. Liquiritigenin is an important dihydroflavonoid compound found in Glycyrrhiza uralensis that has a wide range of pharmacological properties, such as antitumor, antiulcer, anti-inflammatory, and anti-AIDS effects, but its mechanism of action remains unclear. This study explored the metabolites of liquiritigenin by examining gut microbiota metabolism and hepatic metabolism in vitro. Using LC-MS/MS and LC/MSⁿ-IT-TOF techniques, three possible metabolites of liquiritigenin metabolized by the gut microbiota were identified: phloretic acid (M3), resorcinol (M4), and M5. M5 is speculated to be davidigenin, which has antitumor activity. By comparing these two metabolic pathways of liquiritigenin (the gut microbiota and liver microsomes), this study revealed that there are three main metabolites of liquiritigenin generated by intestinal bacteria, which provides a theoretical basis for the study of pharmacologically active substances in vivo.

【 授权许可】

Unknown