Structure-bioavailability relationship study of genistein derivatives with antiproliferative activity on human cancer...

The present study assesses the in vitro and in vivo bioavailability of genistein derivatives, hydroxyalkyl- and glycosyl alkyl ethers (glycoconjugates). Studies were carried out using compounds that exhibit higher in vitro antiproliferative activity in comparison with the parent isoflavone. Based on in vitro experiments using the Parallel Artificial Membrane Permeability Assay (PAMPA) and the Caco-2 cell monolayer permeability model, we found that modification of the isoflavone structure by O-alkylation improved bioavailability in comparison to genistein. Additionally, the structure of the substituent and its position on genistein influenced the type of mechanism involved in the transport of compounds through biological membranes. The PAMPA assay showed that the structure of glycoconjugates had a significant influence on the passive transport of the genistein synthetic derivatives through a biological membrane. Preferentially the glycoconjugates containing O-glycosidic bond were transported and the transport rate decreased as the carbon linker increased. For glycoconjugates, determination of their transport and metabolism through the Caco-2 membrane was not possible due to interaction with the membrane surface, probably by the change of compound structure caused by contact with the cells or degradation in medium. The intestinal absorption and metabolism of genistein and three derivatives, Ram-3, Ram'-3 and Ram-C-4α (Fig. 1), were tested in vivo in rats. We found that in comparison to genistein, glycoconjugates were metabolized more slowly and to a lesser extent. As part of the in vivo research, we performed analysis of compound levels in plasma samples after enzymatic hydrolysis, but in the collected samples, analytes were not observed. We hypothesize that glycoconjugates compounds bind plasma proteins and were removed from the sample. In conclusion, we show that O-functionalization of the natural, biologically active isoflavone genistein can affect biological activity, bioavailability, and the rate of compound metabolism. The position of the substituent, the length of the linker and the structure of sugar moieties provides a tool for the optimization of the derivative's biological properties.