Effects on anti-lipid peroxidation of Cudrania cochinchinensis var. gerontogea

From the root bark of Cudrania cochinchinensis (Lour.) Kudo et Masamune var. gerontogea (Sieb. et Zucc.) Kudo et Masamune, 3 xanthones, cudraxanthone I, 1,3,7-trihydroxy-2-(3-methylbut-2- enyl)-xanthone, and lancerin, were further isolated and characterized. It was found that pretreatment with 600 mg/kg oral dose of the EtOH root extract of Cudrania cochinchinensis var. gerontogea in mice inhibited the lipid peroxidation stimulated by FeCl2-ascorbic acid-adenosine 5'-diphosphate (ADP) mixture. For searching bioactive constituents, the isolated xanthones from this folk medicine were investigated in anti-lipid peroxidative activities in the rat liver homogenate. The results showed that most of the tested xanthones effectively exhibited anti-lipid peroxidation stimulated by (a) FeCl2-ascorbic acid mixture or (b) CCl4-nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) mixture. As shown by the result, gerontoxanthone C and I were more active than vitamin E.