NO-donor phenols: a new class of products endowed with antioxidant and vasodilator properties

The synthesis and study of the antioxidant and vasodilator properties of a new class of phenols able to release nitric oxide are described. The products were designed through a symbiotic approach using selected phenols and selected nitrooxy and furoxan NO-donors as reference models. The antioxidant activities of the hybrid products were assessed by detecting the 2-thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) produced in the ferrous salt/ascorbate-induced autoxidation of lipids present in microsomial membranes of rat hepatocytes. The vasodilator activity was assessed on rat aortic strips precontracted with phenylephrine. Some of the products (13, 35, 37, 60-62, 64) behave principally as vasodilators and others as antioxidants (24, 32, 72), and the two properties are relatively balanced in 19, 41, and 68. Further in vivo studies should clarify whether some of these products may become preclinical candidates for the treatment of cardiovascular disease underpinned by atheroma.