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•Prenylflavonoids are found in plants, eaten in foods/supplements, and are bioactive.•Prenylation aids flavonoid tissue bioaccumulation by modulating cell uptake/efflux.•Efflux from ...epithelial cells to the blood circulation is restricted by prenyl groups.•High accumulation may occur in tissues after long-term flavonoid supplementation.
Prenylflavonoids are distributed widely in the plant kingdom and have attracted appreciable attention because of their potential benefits for human health. Prenylation may be a promising tool for applying the biological functions of flavonoids to clinical uses. The bioavailability and bioaccumulation of prenylflavonoids have not been clarified, but extensive studies have been accomplished on their biological functions. This review provides current knowledge on the bioavailability of prenylflavonoids, including their absorption and metabolism in the intestine, as well as their bioaccumulation in specific tissues. Despite higher uptake into epithelial cells of the digestive tract, the bioavailability of single-dose prenylflavonoids seems to be lower than that of the parent flavonoids. Efflux from epithelial cells to the blood circulation is likely to be restricted by prenyl groups, resulting in insufficient increase in the plasma concentration. Rodent studies have revealed that prenylation enhances accumulation of naringenin in muscle tissue after long-term feeding; and that prenylation accelerates accumulation of quercetin in liver tissue. Efflux from hepatocytes to blood and enterohepatic circulations may be restricted by prenyl groups, thereby promoting slow excretion of prenylflavonoids from the blood circulation and efficient uptake to tissues. The hepatotoxicity and other deleterious effects, taken together with beneficial effects, should be considered because unexpectedly high accumulation may occur in some tissues after long-term supplementation.
This is the first study that quantified quercetin (QUE) and its 16 metabolites in the breast milk of QUE-fed maternal mice, the plasma and urine of that, and neonatal mice. Interestingly, the QUE ...aglycone concentration in the milk was much higher than in the plasma of maternal mice, suggesting that QUE may exert biological activity in neonates.
Vegetables and fruits contain prenylflavonoids with biological functions that might improve human health. The prenylflavonoid isoxanthohumol (IXA) and its derivative, 8‐prenylnaringenin (8‐PN), have ...beneficial activities, including anti‐cancer effects and suppression of insulin resistance. However, their pharmacokinetic profile is unclear. Previous studies suggested flavonoids have low systemic availability and are excreted via the feces. Therefore, this study investigated the tissue distribution dynamics of high‐purity IXA (>90%) from hops administered orally, either singly (50 mg/kg body weight BW) or daily for 14 days (30 mg/kg BW), to mice. High‐pressure liquid chromatography demonstrated that IXA was absorbed rapidly after a single administration and reached plasma maximum concentration (Cmax) (3.95 ± 0.81 μmol/L) by 0.5 h. IXA was present at high levels in the liver compared with the kidney, pancreas, lung, skeletal muscle, spleen, thymus, and heart. The highest IXA level after 14 days of IXA ingestion was observed in the liver, followed by the kidney, thymus, spleen, lung, and brain. There was no significant difference in IXA accumulation in tissues between the single and multiple dose groups. Analyses of the livers of rats treated with different concentrations of IXA (112.5–1500 mg/kg BW) once a day for 28 days demonstrated that IXA accumulated dose‐dependently with a correlation coefficient of .813. The accumulation of 8‐PN was dependent on the intake period but not the intake amount of IXA (correlation coefficient −.255). In summary, IXA and 8‐PN were detected in tissues and organs up to 24 h after ingestion, suggesting that orally ingested IXA might have health benefits as a nutraceutical.
The tissue distribution of isoxanthohumol (IXA) and its metabolite, 8‐prenylnaringenin (8‐PN), in rodents was determined using UV‐HPLC. A single administration test, a repeated administration test, and a dose‐dependent test were performed. IXA reached several tissues, accompanied by 8‐PN conversion or not, and both flavonoids may have bioaccumulation potential. The concentration of IXA in the liver was increased depending on the dosage concentration, whereas the amount of 8‐PN in the liver did not correlate with the dosage concentration.
Caveolin-1 is a major protein of the caveolae structure in vascular endothelial cell membrane. Phosphorylation of caveolin-1 is one of the initial events leading to exacerbation of vascular ...permeability caused by oxidative stress. Although quercetin is known to be an anti-atherosclerosis factor that acts as a dietary antioxidant, little is known about its role in the regulation of caveolin-1 phosphorylation. In this study, we investigated the inhibitory effect of quercetin on hydrogen peroxide-induced caveolin-1 phosphorylation in human umbilical vein endothelial cells. Quercetin inhibited caveolin-1 phosphorylation in cells pretreated with quercetin for 24 h and then exposed to hydrogen peroxide. However, quercetin 3-O-β-glucuronide, a conjugated metabolite of quercetin, did not exert this inhibitory effect. Exposure to hydrogen peroxide increased vascular permeability and reduced mRNA expression of the intercellular adhesion protein, vascular endothelial cadherin (VE-cadherin). By contrast, pretreatment with quercetin suppressed the increase in vascular permeability and decreased VE-cadherin expression. These results indicate that deconjugated quercetin can play a role in the prevention of altered vascular permeability under oxidative stress by suppressing caveolin-1 phosphorylation. Thus, dietary quercetin may be beneficial for the maintenance of endothelial cell function.
•Quercetin-3-O-glucuronide accumulated in epithelial cells of choroid plexus.•Quercetin-3-O-glucuronide accumulated in macrophage cells in the recent infarcts.•The deconjugation of ...quercetin-3-O-glucuronide was demonstrated in some cell lines.•The deconjugation is essential for the activities of the glucuronides.
In recent years, many papers have suggested that dietary flavonoids may exert beneficial effects in the brain tissue for the protection of neurons against oxidative stress and inflammation. However, the bioavailability of flavonoids across the blood–brain barrier and the localization in the brain remain controversial. Thus, we examined the localization of quercetin-3-O-glucuronide (Q3GA), a major phase-II metabolite of quercetin, in the human brain tissues with or without cerebral infarction by immunohistochemical staining using anti-Q3GA antibody. A significant immunoreactivity was observed in the epithelial cells of the choroid plexus, which constitute the structural basis of the blood–cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) barrier, and in the foamy macrophages of recent infarcts. The cellular accumulation of Q3GA was also reproduced in vitro in macrophage-like RAW264, microglial MG6, and brain capillary endothelial RBEC1. It is of interest that a common feature of these cell lines is the deconjugation of Q3GA, resulting in the cellular accumulation of non-conjugated quercetin and the methylated forms. We then examined the anti-inflammatory activity of Q3GA and the deconjugated forms in the lipopolysaccharide-stimulated macrophage cells and revealed that the deconjugated forms (quercetin and a methylated form isorhamnetin), but not Q3GA itself, exhibited inhibitory effects on the inflammatory responses through attenuation of the c-Jun N-terminal kinase pathway. These results suggested that a quercetin glucuronide can pass through the blood–brain barrier, perhaps the CSF barrier, accumulate in specific types of cells, such as macrophages, and act as anti-inflammatory agents in the brain through deconjugation into the bioactive non-conjugated forms.
Quercetin, a typical dietary flavonoid, is thought to exert antidepressant effects by inhibiting the monoamine oxidase-A (MAO-A) reaction, which is responsible for regulation of the metabolism of the ...neurotransmitter 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) in the brain. This study compared the MAO-A inhibitory activity of quercetin with those of O-methylated quercetin (isorhamnetin, tamarixetin), luteolin, and green tea catechins ((−)-epicatechin, (−)-epicatechin gallate, (−)-epigallocatechin, and (−)-epigallocatechin gallate) by measuring the formation of the oxidative deamination product of 5-HT, 5-hydroxyindole aldehyde (5-HIAL), in mouse brain mitochondria. Quercetin was inferior to luteolin in the inhibition of MAO-A activity, whereas isorhamnetin, tamarixetin, and tea catechins scarcely exerted inhibitory activity. Quercetin did not affect MAO-A activity in mouse intestinal mitochondria, indicating that it does not evoke side effects on the metabolism of dietary monoamines in the gut. These data suggest that quercetin is a weak (but safe) MAO-A inhibitor in the modulation of 5-HT levels in the brain.
Dietary flavonoids, such as quercetin, have long been recognized to protect blood vessels from atherogenic inflammation by yet unknown mechanisms. We have previously discovered the specific ...localization of quercetin-3-O-glucuronide (Q3GA), a phase II metabolite of quercetin, in macrophage cells in the human atherosclerotic lesions, but the biological significance is poorly understood. We have now demonstrated the molecular basis of the interaction between quercetin glucuronides and macrophages, leading to deconjugation of the glucuronides into the active aglycone. In vitro experiments showed that Q3GA was bound to the cell surface proteins of macrophages through anion binding and was readily deconjugated into the aglycone. It is of interest that the macrophage-mediated deconjugation of Q3GA was significantly enhanced upon inflammatory activation by lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Zymography and immunoblotting analysis revealed that β-glucuronidase is the major enzyme responsible for the deglucuronidation, whereas the secretion rate was not affected after LPS treatment. We found that extracellular acidification, which is required for the activity of β-glucuronidase, was significantly induced upon LPS treatment and was due to the increased lactate secretion associated with mitochondrial dysfunction. In addition, the β-glucuronidase secretion, which is triggered by intracellular calcium ions, was also induced by mitochondria dysfunction characterized using antimycin-A (a mitochondrial inhibitor) and siRNA-knockdown of Atg7 (an essential gene for autophagy). The deconjugated aglycone, quercetin, acts as an anti-inflammatory agent in the stimulated macrophages by inhibiting the c-Jun N-terminal kinase activation, whereas Q3GA acts only in the presence of extracellular β-glucuronidase activity. Finally, we demonstrated the deconjugation of quercetin glucuronides including the sulfoglucuronides in vivo in the spleen of mice challenged with LPS. These results showed that mitochondrial dysfunction plays a crucial role in the deconjugation of quercetin glucuronides in macrophages. Collectively, this study contributes to clarifying the mechanism responsible for the anti-inflammatory activity of dietary flavonoids within the inflammation sites.
Flavonoids have attracted considerable attention in relation to their effects upon health. 8-Prenylnaringenin (8-PN) is found in the common hop (Humulus lupulus) and assumed to be responsible for the ...health impact of beer consumption. We wanted to clarify the effects of prenylation on the physiological functions of dietary flavonoids by comparing the effects of 8-PN with that of intact naringenin in the prevention of disuse muscle atrophy using a model of denervation in mice. Consumption of 8-PN (but not naringenin) prevented loss of weight in the gastrocnemius muscle further supported by the lack of induction of the protein content of a key ubiquitin ligase involved in muscle atrophy, atrogin-1, and by the activation of Akt phosphorylation. 8-PN content in the gastrocnemius muscle was tenfold higher than that of naringenin. These results suggested that, compared with naringenin, 8-PN was effectively concentrated into skeletal muscle to exert its preventive effects upon disuse muscle atrophy. It is likely that prenylation generates novel functions for 8-PN by enhancing its accumulation into muscle tissue through dietary intake.
Quercetin is a major dietary flavonoid in fruits and vegetables. We aimed to clarify the preventive effect of dietary quercetin on disuse muscle atrophy and the underlying mechanisms. We established ...a mouse denervation model by cutting the sciatic nerve in the right leg (SNX surgery) to lack of mobilization in hind-limb. Preintake of a quercetin-mixed diet for 14days before SNX surgery prevented loss of muscle mass and atrophy of muscle fibers in the gastrocnemius muscle (GM). Phosphorylation of Akt, a key phosphorylation pathway of suppression of protein degradation, was activated in the quercetin-mixed diet group with and without SNX surgery. Intake of a quercetin-mixed diet suppressed the generation of hydrogen peroxide originating from mitochondria and elevated mitochondrial peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ coactivator 1α mRNA expression as well as NADH dehydrogenase 4 expression in the GM with SNX surgery. Quercetin and its conjugated metabolites reduced hydrogen peroxide production in the mitochondrial fraction obtained from atrophied muscle. In C2C12 myotubes, quercetin reached the mitochondrial fraction. These findings suggest that dietary quercetin can prevent disuse muscle atrophy by targeting mitochondria in skeletal muscle tissue through protecting mitochondria from decreased biogenesis and reducing mitochondrial hydrogen peroxide release, which can be related to decreased hydrogen peroxide production and/or improvements on antioxidant capacity of mitochondria.
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