demethoxycurcumin and ferric-nitrilotriacetate

Iron overload disorders may be treated by chelation therapy. This study describes a novel method for isolating iron chelators from complex mixtures including plant extracts. We demonstrate the one-step isolation of curcuminoids from turmeric, the medicinal food spice derived from Curcuma longa. The method uses iron-nitrilotriacetic acid (NTA)-agarose, to which curcumin binds rapidly, specifically, and reversibly. Curcumin, demethoxycurcumin, and bisdemethoxycurcumin each bound iron-NTA-agarose with comparable affinities and a stoichiometry near 1. Analyses of binding efficiencies and purity demonstrated that curcuminoids comprise the primary iron binding compounds recovered from a crude turmeric extract. Competition of curcuminoid binding to the iron resin was used to characterize the metal binding site on curcumin and to detect iron binding by added chelators. Curcumin-Iron-NTA-agarose binding was inhibited by other metals with relative potency: (>90% inhibition) Cu

Topics: Aluminum; Animals; Binding, Competitive; Calcium; Cell Line; Chromatography, Affinity; Copper; Curcuma; Curcumin; Deferoxamine; Diarylheptanoids; Edetic Acid; Epithelial Cells; Ferric Compounds; Iron; Iron Chelating Agents; Kinetics; Liver; Magnesium; Manganese; Nitrilotriacetic Acid; Plant Extracts; Rats; Zinc