• YAKHAK HOEJI
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• v.54 no.1
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• pp.27-31
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• 2010

Xanthohumol, a prenylated chalcone of the Hop plant (Humulus lupulus L.), has been reported to suppress tumor growth. 4-hydroxychalcone and isobavachalcone are chalcone derivatives and they have similar structure with xanthohumol. In the present study, we investigated the cytotoxic activities of chalcone and its derivatives, 4-hydroxychalcone, xanthohumol, and isobavachalcone, in MCF-7 and adriamycin resistant MCF-7 (MCF-7/ADR) breast cancer cells and HT-1080 fibrosarcoma cells. In a cell viability assay using 3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) reagent, chalcone and 4-hydroxychalcone decreased cell viability in HT-1080 cells, but not in MCF-7 and MCF-7/ADR cells. Isobavachalcone showed similar cytotoxicity in HT-1080 cells, and only limited cytotoxicity in MCF-7 and MCF-7/ADR cells at very high concentration (50 ${\mu}M$). In contrast, xanthohumol showed concentration-dependent cytotoxicity in MCF-7, MCF-7/ADR, and HT-1080 cancer cells. Taken together, the structure-activity relationship of chalcone and its derivatives indicate that chalcones may be valuable cytotoxic compounds against selective cancer types.

• YAKHAK HOEJI
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• v.55 no.5
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• pp.367-373
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• 2011

It was reported that the potency of TMMC derivatives was related to the presence of the 2'-hydroxy group on the A ring. Also, 4-dimethylamino group on the B ring lowered the anti-inflammatory potency of the chalcones. We synthesized various derivatives of 2'-hydroxy chalcones having other substituents on B ring. The synthetic derivatives showed the more potent anti-inflammatory effect, comparable to that of the TMMC derivatives reported previously.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.49 no.2
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• pp.174-180
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• 2021

Chalcones exhibit multiple biological activities. Various studies have attempted to modify the structure of chalcones with a special focus on the addition of substituents to the benzene rings. However, these chemical modifications did not improve the water solubility and bioavailability of chalcones. Glycosylation can markedly affect the physical and chemical properties of hydrophobic compounds. Here, we evaluated the ability of a highly promiscuous glycosyltransferase (GT) BsGT1 from Bacillus subtilis ATCC 6633 to biosynthesize chalcone glucosides. Purified BsGT1 catalyzed the conversion of 4'-hydroxychalcone (compound 1), 4'-hydroxy-4-methylchalcone (compound 2), and 4-hydroxy-4'-methoxychalcone (compound 3), into chalcone 4'-O-β-D-glucoside (compound 1a), 4-methylchalcone 4'-O-β-D-glucoside (compound 2a), and 4'-methoxychalcone 4-O-β-D-glucoside (compound 3a), respectively. To avoid the addition of expensive uridine diphosphate glucose (UDP-Glc), a whole-cell biotransformation system was employed to provide a natural intracellular environment for in situ co-factor regeneration. The yields of compounds 1a, 2a, and 3a were as high as 90.38%, 100% and 74.79%, respectively. The successful co-expression of BsGT1 with phosphoglucomutase (PGM) and UDP-Glc pyrophosphorylase (GalU), which are involved in the biosynthetic pathway of UDP-Glc, further improved the conversion rates of chalcones (the yields of compounds 1a and 3a increased by approximately 10%). In conclusion, we demonstrated an effective whole-cell biocatalytic system for the enzymatic biosynthesis of chalcone β-D-glucoside derivatives.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.22 no.12
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• pp.1659-1664
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• 2012

TSAHC [4'-(p-toluenesulfonylamido)-4-hydroxychalcone] is a promising antitumorigenic chalcone compound, especially against TM4SF5 (four-transmembrane L6 family member 5)-mediated hepatocarcinoma. We evaluated the potential of TSAHC to inhibit the catalytic activities of nine cytochrome P450 isoforms and of P-glycoprotein (P-gp). The abilities of TSAHC to inhibit phenacetin O-deethylation (CYP1A2), coumarin 6-hydroxylation (CYP2A6), bupropion hydroxylation (CYP2B6), amodiaquine N-deethylation (CYP2C8), diclofenac 4-hydroxylation (CYP2C9), omeprazole 5-hydroxylation (CYP2C19), dextromethorphan O-demethylation (CYP2D6), chlorzoxazone 6-hydroxylation (CYP2E1), and midazolam 1'-hydroxylation (CYP3A) were tested using human liver microsomes. The P-gp inhibitory effect of TSAHC was assessed by [$^3H$]digoxin accumulation in the LLCPK1-MDR1 cell system. TSAHC strongly inhibited CYP2C8, CYP2C9, and CYP2C19 isoform activities with $K_i$ values of 0.81, 0.076, and $3.45{\mu}M$, respectively. It also enhanced digoxin accumulation in a dose-dependent manner in the LLCPK1-MDR1 cells. These findings indicate that TSAHC has the potential to inhibit CYP2C isoforms and P-gp activities in vitro. TSAHC might be used as a nonspecific inhibitor of CYP2C isoforms based on its negligible inhibitory effect on other P450 isoforms such as CYP1A2, CYP2A6, CYP2B6, CYP2D6, CYP2E1, and CYP3A.