Evaluation of the Antioxidant, Hepatoprotective, and Anti-Inflammatory Activities of Bisresorcinol Isolated from the Trunk of Heliciopsis Terminalis

Abstract

A bisresorcinol, (8′Z)-3,5-dihydroxy-1-[16′-(3″,5″-dihydroxyphenyl)-8′-hexadecen-1′-yl]benzene (I), was isolated as an abundant constituent from the Vietnamese medicinal plant Heliciopsis terminalis (Kurz) Sleumer (Proteaceae). The antioxidant, hepatoprotective, and anti-inflammatory activities of compound I were tested in correlation with the use of H. terminalis as a hepatoprotective drug by ethnic people in Vietnam. Bisresorcinol I showed weak scavenging activity against DPPH radical at an EC₅₀ value of 156.9 mg/mL. At a concentration of 100 mg/mL, compound I inhibited 19,78% of MDAproduction as one of the biomarkers for lipid peroxidation. Bisresorcinol I protected HepG2 cells against harmful CCl₄. The hepatoprotective ability was observed at a concentration of 100 mg/mL with up to 44.42% cells alive, which was significantly higher than that in the control treated with CCl₄ (29.93 %). The NO scavenging activity of I was determined in RAW 264.7 cells with an IC₅₀ value of 71.15 mg/mL. Bisresorcinol I exhibited its anti-inflammatory activity through modulation of proinflammatory cytokines IL-6 and TNF-α as well as anti-inflammatory IL-10 in RAW264.7 cells.