aspalathin and homoorientin

The current study investigated the physiological effects of flavonoids found in daily consumed rooibos tea, aspalathin, isoorientin, and orientin on improving processes involved in mitochondrial function in C2C12 myotubes. To achieve this, C2C12 myotubes were exposed to a mitochondrial channel blocker, antimycin A (6.25 µM), for 12 h to induce mitochondrial dysfunction. Thereafter, cells were treated with aspalathin, isoorientin, and orientin (10 µM) for 4 h, while metformin (1 µM) and insulin (1 µM) were used as comparators. Relevant bioassays and real-time PCR were conducted to assess the impact of treatment compounds on some markers of mitochondrial function. Our results showed that antimycin A induced alterations in the mitochondrial respiration process and mRNA levels of genes involved in energy production. In fact, aspalathin, isoorientin, and orientin reversed such effects leading to the reduced production of intracellular reactive oxygen species. These flavonoids further enhanced the expression of genes involved in mitochondrial function, such as

Topics: Animals; Anti-Bacterial Agents; Antimycin A; Aspalathus; Cell Line; Cells, Cultured; Chalcones; Flavonoids; Glucosides; Luteolin; Mice; Mitochondria; Muscle, Skeletal; Tea

Aspalathin and nothofagin, the major dihydrochalcones in rooibos (Aspalathus linearis), are valuable bioactive compounds, but their bioactivity has not been fully elucidated. Isolation of these compounds using high-performance countercurrent chromatography (HPCCC), a gentle, support-free, up-scalable technique, offers an alternative to synthesis for obtaining sufficient amounts. An HPLC-DAD method was adapted to allow rapid (16 min from injection to injection) quantification of the four major compounds (aspalathin, nothofagin, isoorientin, orientin) during development of the isolation protocol. The traditional shake-flask method, used to determine distribution constants (K(D)) for target compounds, was also adapted to obtain higher repeatability. Green rooibos leaves with a high aspalathin and nothofagin content were selected as source material. Sample loading of the polyphenol-enriched extract was limited due to constituents with emulsifying properties, but could be increased by removing ethanol-insoluble matter. Furthermore, problems with degradation of aspalathin during HPCCC separation and further processing could be limited by acidifying the HPCCC solvent system. Aspalathin was shown to be fairly stable at pH 3 (91% remaining after 29 h) compared to pH 7 (45% remaining after 29 h). Aspalathin and nothofagin with high purities (99% and 100%, respectively) were obtained from HPCCC fractions after semi-preparative HPLC.

Topics: Aspalathus; Chalcones; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; Countercurrent Distribution; Flavonoids; Glucosides; Luteolin; Plant Extracts; Plant Leaves; Polyphenols; Spectrometry, Mass, Electrospray Ionization