Conferin, potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory isoflavone from Caragana conferta Benth

Conferin (1), a new isoflavone, has been isolated from the ethyl acetate soluble fraction of Caragana conferta Benth. along with seven known compounds, namely biochanin A (2), p-hydroxybenzoic acid (3), 3,5-dimethoxybenzoic acid (4), ursolic acid (5), erythrodiol (6), pinoresinol (7), and syringresinol (8), reported for the first time from this species. The structure of the new isoflavone was deduced on the basis of spectroscopic studies. Compounds 1 and 2 were investigated for biological activities and showed significant anti-inflammatory activity in carrageenan induced paw edema of rats. Evaluation of antioxidant activity by the radical scavenging method indicated that compound 1 is a potent antioxidant while 2 is moderately active. It was also shown that the reducing capability of compound 2 was remarkably increased in a concentration dependent manner as compared to 1. Compound 1 showed moderate inhibitory activity against the enzyme lipoxygenase, while 2 showed weak activity.