A DFT study on the radical scavenging activity of maritimetin and related aurones

The radical scavenging activity of maritimetin and a series of synthetic aurones has been studied by using density functional theory with the B3LYP exchange correlation functional. The computation of various molecular descriptors that could assist the elucidation of hydrogen atom and electron donating ability of the selected compounds was carried out in the gas phase and in the liquid phase (benzene, methanol, water) with the aid of IEF-PCM. For reasons of comparison a series of simple phenols of known activity were also included in the study. The results are discussed with regards to the structure-activity relationship principles of flavonoids and in particular to the capacity of the selected aurones to scavenge 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH(*)) and superoxide anion (O(2)(-*)) radicals. The O-H bond dissociation enthalpy (BDE) seems to be the most proper parameter to characterize the antiradical properties of the studied compounds. The hydroxylation pattern in ring B defines the order of activity, while the extended conjugation and especially the presence of a catechol moiety in ring A are responsible for the high activity observed experimentally for the selected aurones.