Xanthine oxidase (XO) is the key enzyme in humans which is related to a variety of diseases such as gout, hyperuricemia and cardiovascular diseases. In this work, a series of 2-arylbenzo[b]furan derivatives were synthesized based on salvianolic acid C, and they were evaluated for xanthine oxidase inhibitory and antioxidant activities. Compounds 5b, 6a, 6e and 6f showed potent xanthine oxidase inhibitory activities with IC50 values ranging from 3.99 to 6.36 μM, which were comparable with that of allopurinol. Lineweaver-Burk plots analysis revealed that the representative derivative 6e could bind to either xanthine oxidase or the xanthine oxidase-xanthine complex, which exhibited a mixed-type competitive mechanism. A DPPH radical scavenging assay showed most of the hydroxyl-functionalized 2-arylbenzo[b]furan derivatives possessed the potent antioxidant activity, which was further validated on LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 macrophages model. The structure-activity relationships were preliminary analyzed and indicated that the structural skeleton of 2-arylbenzo[b]furan and phenolic hydroxyl groups played an important role in maintaining xanthine oxidase inhibitory effect and antioxidant property for the series of derivatives. Meanwhile, molecular docking studies were performed to further confirm the structure-activity relationships and investigate the proposed binding mechanisms of compounds 5d, 6d and 10d binding to the protein.
Keywords: 2-arylbenzo[b]furan derivatives; Antioxidant; Molecular docking; Salvianolic acid C; Xanthine oxidase inhibitor.
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