A powdered ethanolic extract of Glycyrrhiza aspera root exhibits antimutagenic activity against N-methyl-N-nitrosourea (MNU) based on the Ames assay with Salmonella typhimurium TA1535. The aim of this study was to identify the antimutagenic components of the powdered ethanolic extract of G. aspera root.The powdered ethanolic extract of G. aspera root was sequentially suspended in n-hexane, carbon tetrachloride, dichloromethane, ethyl acetate, and ethanol, and each solvent soluble fraction and the residue were assayed for antimutagenic activity against MNU in S. typhimurium TA1535. The dichloromethane soluble fraction exhibited the highest antimutagenicity and was fractionated several times by silica gel chromatography. The fraction with the highest antimutagenic activity was further purified using HPLC, and the fractions were assayed for antimutagenicity against MNU in S. typhimurium TA1535. Finally, five components with antimutagenic activity against MNU were identified as glyurallin A, glyasperin B, licoricidin, 1-methoxyphaseollin, and licoisoflavone B.The five components were demonstrated to possess an antigenotoxic effect against carcinogenic MNU for the first time. It is important to prevent DNA damage by N-nitrosamines for cancer chemoprevention.

A powdered ethanolic extract of Glycyrrhiza aspera root exhibits antimutagenic activity against N-methyl-N-nitrosourea (MNU) based on the Ames assay with Salmonella typhimurium TA1535. The aim of this study was to identify the antimutagenic components of the powdered ethanolic extract of G. aspera root.The powdered ethanolic extract of G. aspera root was sequentially suspended in n-hexane, carbon tetrachloride, dichloromethane, ethyl acetate, and ethanol, and each solvent soluble fraction and the residue were assayed for antimutagenic activity against MNU in S. typhimurium TA1535. The dichloromethane soluble fraction exhibited the highest antimutagenicity and was fractionated several times by silica gel chromatography. The fraction with the highest antimutagenic activity was further purified using HPLC, and the fractions were assayed for antimutagenicity against MNU in S. typhimurium TA1535. Finally, five components with antimutagenic activity against MNU were identified as glyurallin A, glyasperin B, licoricidin, 1-methoxyphaseollin, and licoisoflavone B.The five components were demonstrated to possess an antigenotoxic effect against carcinogenic MNU for the first time. It is important to prevent DNA damage by N-nitrosamines for cancer chemoprevention.

Acetone alkylhydrazones have been reported to be mutagenic in Salmonella typhimurium TA1535 after exposure to oxygen, and the corresponding 2-alkylazo-2-propyl hydroperoxides are formed by autoxidation as a result. The aims of this study were to investigate the mutagenic mechanisms of a methyl analogue, 2-methylazo-2-propyl hydroperoxide (MAPH), by comparing the mutagenic potency of specific Salmonella strains, detecting the DNA adducts that cause mutagenicity, and observing the hydroxyl radical and methyl radical with the electron spin resonance (ESR) spin-trapping method. MAPH showed stronger mutagenicity in both Salmonella typhimurium YG3001, a strain sensitive to hydroxyl radicals, and Salmonella typhimurium YG7108, a strain sensitive to alkylating agents, than the original Salmonella typhimurium TA1535 strain. Moreover, MAPH resulted in the formation of 8-hydroxy-2′-deoxyguanosine and O6-methyl-2′-deoxyguanosine in a reaction with DNA. These results showed that the mutagenicity of hydrazones was ascribed to the generation of reactive species by autoxidation, namely that of the alkyldiazonium ion and also the hydroxyl radical.

A series of acridines with bifunctional substituents was synthesized with the dual properties of DNA alkylation and intercalation. 4,5-Bis(bromomethyl)acridine (1) was previously reported to crosslink and intercalate with DNA. In this study, 1,8-bis(bromomethyl)acridine (2) and 2,7-bis(bromomethyl)acridine (3), monofunctional 2-(bromomethyl)-7-methylacridine (4) and 2,7-dimethylacridine (5) were synthesized, and their crosslinking and intercalative activities were investigated to assess the reactivity of bromomethyl acridines with DNA. Interstrand crosslinking activity was similar among the three bis(bromomethyl)acridines. The acridines exhibited intercalation activity for calf thymus DNA as follows: 3 > 4 > 2 = 1 >>> 5. Intracellular DNA-crosslinking and DNA-intercalating activities were evaluated using the Ames assay. 4 was mutagenic in Salmonella typhimurium TA100 and TA98, indicating that the bromomethyl group alkylated DNA bases. All three bis(bromomethyl)acridines were mutagenic in S. typhimurium TA92 and TA94, which can detect intracellular crosslinking DNA damage, whereas 5 was not mutagenic in these strains. The results showed that the bis(bromomethyl)acridines crosslinked DNA and intercalated between DNA bases, and 3 exhibited the highest crosslinking and intercalating activity.

S-Nitrosoglutathione (GSNO) relaxes vascular smooth muscles, prevents platelet aggregation, and acts as a potential in vivo nitric oxide donor. 3-Nitroso-1,3-thiazolidine-4-thiocarboxamide (1), a N-nitrosothio-proline analogue, exhibited a high GSNO formation activity. In this study, two compounds (2 and 3) based on compound 1 were newly synthesized by introducing either one or two methyl groups onto a nitrogen atom on the thioamide substituent in 1. The pseudo-first-order rate constants (kobs) for the GSNO formation for the reaction between the compound and glutathione followed the order 1>2≒31>2≒3. Thus, the introduction of a methyl group(s) onto the thioamide group led to a decrease in the transnitrosation activity. On the basis of density functional theoretical calculations, the transnitrosation for the N-nitrosothiazolidine thiocarboxamides was proposed to proceed via a bridged intermediate pathway. Specifically, the protonated compound 1 forms a bridged structure between the nitrogen atom in the nitroso group and two sulfur atoms—one in the ring and the other in the substituent. The bridged intermediate gives rise to a second intermediate in which the nitroso group is bonded to the sulfur atom in the thioamide group. Finally, the nitroso group is transferred to GSH to form GSNO.

Several 6-chromanol derivatives with various substituents (one or two amino, acetylamino, chloro or nitro substituents at the 5-, 7-, 8- or 5,7-positions on the phenyl ring of 2,2-dimethyl-6-chromanol) were synthesized, and their second order rate constants (k) for a reaction that demonstrates radical scavenging activity (reaction with the galvinoxyl radical) were determined. Three monoacetylamino compounds, 8-nitro compound, and 5,7-diamino, 5,7-diacetylamino, and 5,7-dinitro compounds were newly synthesized. logk was plotted against the Hammett sigma (σm) or Taft sigma (σ*) constants for the compounds containing each of the four substituents to obtain their reaction constants (ρ) from the slopes. The σ plots representing radical scavenging activity showed a linear correlation with negative ρ values for all compounds with substituted positions. The results indicate that the electron-donating effect of the amino and acetylamino groups on the chroman ring enhanced radical scavenging activity, whereas the electron-withdrawing effect of the chloro and nitro groups decreased this activity. Furthermore, the magnitude of ρ for the substituted compounds increased in the following order with respect to the substitution position: meta-substituted (−3.71 for 6a–d), ortho-monosubstituted (−0.86 for 4a–d, −0.87 for 5a–d), and ortho-disubstituted (−0.47 for 7a–d). The greater ρ magnitudes for the meta-substituted compound indicated that the radical scavenging reactions were more sensitive to inductive substituent effects than for the ortho-substituent compounds. The ρ values for ortho-mono- and ortho-disubstituted compounds were smaller than that for the meta-substituted compound, despite the fact that the k values for the ortho-substituted compounds were higher than those for the meta-substituted compounds. Thus, electron-donating groups in ortho-substituted 6-chromanols accelerate the reaction rate through resonance stabilization in addition to the inductive substituent effect.

Aromatic and aliphatic nitrosamines are known to transfer a nitrosonium ion to another amine. The transnitrosation of alicyclic N-nitroso compounds generates S-nitrosothiols, which are potential nitric oxide donors in vivo. In this study, certain alicyclic N-nitroso compounds based on non-mutagenic N-nitrosoproline or N-nitrosothioproline were synthesised, and the formation of S-nitrosoglutathione (GSNO) was quantified under acidic conditions. We then investigated the effect of a sulfur atom as the substituent and as a ring component on the GSNO formation. In the presence of thiourea under acidic conditions, GSNO was formed from N-nitrosoproline and glutathione, and an N-nitroso compound containing a sulfur atom and glutathione produced GSNO without thiourea. The quantity of GSNO derived from the reaction of the N-nitrosamines containing a sulfur atom and glutathione was higher than that from the N-nitrosoproline and glutathione plus thiourea. Among the analogues that contained a sulfur atom either in the ring or as a substituent, the thiazolidines produced a slightly higher quantity of GSNO than the analogue with a thioamide group. A compound containing sulfur atoms both in the ring and as a substituent exhibited the highest activity for GSNO formation among the alicyclic N-nitrosamines tested. The results indicate that the intramolecular sulfur atom plays an important role in the transnitrosation via alicyclic N-nitroso compounds to form GSNO.A series of N-nitrosoproline and N-nitrosothioproline derivatives were synthesized and the transnitrosation activity of the compounds was evaluated in terms of their capacity to form S-nitrosoglutathione (GSNO).

The Ames assay is used for short-term screening of mutagens/carcinogens that induce DNA damage. Most mutagens/carcinogens require enzymatic activation through oxidation by cytochrome P450 in an S-9 mix to exert their mutagenicity. Chemical models for cytochrome P450, consisting of water-soluble or water-insoluble iron porphyrin plus an oxidant, have been used to produce frameshift mutagens from aromatic amines, heterocyclic amines and polyaromatic hydrocarbons. In this study, the mutagenicity of N-nitrosodialkylamines was assayed in the presence of a chemical model, which consists of 5,10,15,20-tetrakis(2,4,6-trimethylphenyl)porphyrinatoruthenium(IV) dichloride (RuMe3) and 2,6-dichloropyridine N-oxide (Cl2pyNO). The chemical model activated symmetrical N-nitrosodialkylamines (alkyl = methyl, ethyl, propyl, butyl), and unsymmetrical N-nitroso-N-methylalkylamine (alkyl = propyl, butyl) in Salmonella typhimurium YG7108. Furthermore, the mutagenicity of N-nitrosodipropylamine (NDP) in S. typhimurium YG7108 was higher than that in S. typhimurium TA1535, suggesting that the mutagenicity derived from NDP using the chemical model was due to DNA alkylation. The results showed that the chemical model can activate N-nitrosodialkylamines to induce base substitution mutations.

The hydroxyl radical-scavenging activity of the amino-substituted α-tocopherol analogues was much higher than that of α-tocopherol. Aminochromanoxyl radicals generated from 5- and 7-aminochromanol were successfully detected in aqueous solution at room temperature during ESR measurements. The stability of the aminochromanoxyl radicals leads to a significant enhancement of the radical-scavenging activity.

Synthetic 6-chromanol derivatives were prepared with several chlorine substitutions, which conferred both electron-withdrawing inductive effects and electron-donating resonance effects. A trichlorinated compound (2), a dichlorinated compound (3), and three monochlorinated compounds (4, 5, and 6) were synthesized; compounds 2, 3, and 6 were novel. The antioxidant activities of the compounds, evaluated in terms of their capacities to scavenge galvinoxyl radical, were associated with the number and positioning of chlorine atoms in the aromatic ring of 6-chromanol. The activity of compound 1 (2,2-dimethyl-6-chromanol) was slightly higher than the activities of compounds 2 (2,2-dimethyl-5,7-dichloro-6-chromanol) or 3 (2,2-dimethyl-5,7,8-trichloro-6-chromanol), in which the chlorine atoms were ortho to the phenolic hydroxyl group of 6-chromanol. The scavenging activity of compound 3 was slightly higher than that of 2, which contained an additional chlorine substituted in the 8 position. The activities of polychlorinated compounds 2 and 3 were higher than the activities of any of the monochlorinated compounds (4–6). Compound 6, in which a chlorine was substituted in the 8 position, exhibited the lowest activity. Substitution of a chlorine atom meta to the hydroxyl group of 6-chromanol (compounds 2 and 6) decreased galvinoxyl radical scavenging activity, owing to the electron-withdrawing inductive effect of chlorine. Positioning the chloro group ortho to the hydroxyl group (compounds 4 and 5) retained antioxidant activity because the intermediate radical was stabilized by the electron-donating resonance effect of chlorine in spite of the electron-withdrawing inductive effect of chlorine. Antioxidant activities of the synthesized compounds were evaluated for correlations with the O–H bond dissociation energies (BDEs) and the ionization potentials. The BDEs correlated with the second-order rate constants (k) in the reaction between galvinoxyl radical and the chlorinated 6-chromanol derivatives in acetonitrile. This indicated that the antioxidant mechanism of the synthesized compounds consisted of a one-step hydrogen atom transfer from the phenolic OH group rather than an electron transfer followed by a proton transfer. The synthesized compounds also exhibited hydroxyl radical scavenging capacities in aqueous solution.