A new hepatoprotective flavone glycoside from the flowers of Onopordum alexandrinum growing in Egypt

Abstract

A bioactivity-guided fractionation of the ethyl acetate fraction of the ffowers of Onopordum alexandrinum L.(Asteraceae) yielded a new ffavonoidal glycoside designated as acacetin-7-O-galacturonide (9), alongside with nine known ffavonoids; 6-methoxy-apigenin (hispidulin)(1), acacetin (2), apigenin (3), luteolin (4), kaempferol (5), eriodictyol (6), apigenin-7-O-glucoside (7), luteolin-7-O-glucoside (8), and kaempferol-3-O-rutinoside (10). The compounds were assayed for their hepatoprotective activity against CCl4-induced hepatic cell damage in rats and free radical scavenging activity using 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH). Compounds 4, 6, 9, and 10 have not been previously reported from ffowers of O. alexandrinum L., and this is the first report of acacetin-7-O-galacturonide (9) in nature which has also shown significant hepatoprotective and free radical scavenging effects. The isolated compounds were