Naturally occurring chalcones and their biological activities

Abstract

The aim of this review is to summarize the various naturally occurring chalcone compounds which have been isolated from different plants. Chalcones considered as obligate intermediated in flavonoid biosynthesis but they do not accumulate to appreciable degree in most plants. The largest number of natural chalcones has been isolated from species of the Leguminosae, Asteraceae and Moraceae families. Chalcone accumulating plants have often been used in traditional medicine and chalcones have therefore been studied and reported to possess many beneficial biological effects including anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antifungal, antioxidant, cytotoxic, antitumor and chemopreventive activities. Previously published reviews on this topic survey the biological activities of natural and synthetic chalcones but there are no comprehensive contributions on occurrence and biological activities of natural chalcones. The present study provides an overview of hydroxy or/and methoxy-substituted chalcones, methylated, prenylated, geranylated and other monomeric derivatives, chromeno-and furanochalcones, dimeric chalcones and dihydrochalcone derivatives focusing on their biosynthesis, natural sources and biological activities. On the basis of 608 references, this review covers the phytochemistry and biological activity of natural chalcones, describing 646 compounds have been appeared in the literature since 1975. The summary is aimed to initiate further pharmacobotanical, biotechnological and medicinal studies on the field of chalcone research.

Metabolic engineering of Saccharomyces cerevisiae for de novo production of dihydrochalcones with known antioxidant, antidiabetic, and sweet tasting properties

“…Apples however remain unique in that they accumulate DHCs to very high concentrations of up to 14% dry weight in leaves (Gosch et al, 2010b). Although knowledge about the functional role of DHCs in planta is limited, many of these structures have received attention for other reasons, mostly relating to a variety of human health and food applications (Rozmer and Perjési, 2016). Three of the most prominent examples of active DHCs described in literature are briefly outlined here.…”

Study of Reactions of Two Mannich Bases Derived of 4’-Hydroxychalcones with Glutathione by RP‑TLC, RP‑HPLC and RP‑HPLC‑ESI‑MS Analysis

“…The structures of synthesized chalcones were confirmed based on melting point measurement and spectroscopic methods by comparison with literature data. [26][27][28] (2E)-3-(4-Chlorophenyl)-1-(4-hydroxyphenyl)prop-2-en-1-one (1) The bis Mannich chalcone 3 was synthesized from the corresponding hydroxychalcone 1 using the Mannich reagent N,N-dimethylmethyleneiminium chloride, also known as Eschenmoser's salt, previously prepared by a literature procedure. 2 The Mannich reagent N,N-dimethylmethyleneiminium chloride (2.0 mmol) was dissolved in a solution of hydroxychalcone 1 (1.0 mmol) in acetonitrile (10 mL) and the mixture was heated under reflux for 78 h. The solution was concentrated followed by the addition of a hydrogen chloride solution in diethyl ether to form the corresponding hydrochloride salt 3 in 78% yield.…”

“…1 The wide range of biological activities of both naturally occurring and synthetic analogues, among other cytotoxic, 2,3 antitumor, anti-inflammatory 4,5 and chemopreventive (antioxidant) 5,6 properties are well documented in the literature. [7][8][9] Chalcones are α,β-unsaturated ketones and representatives of this class of compounds have demonstrated a preferential reactivity towards thiols in contrast to amino and hydroxyl groups.…”

(E)-2-Benzylidenecycloalkanones XII.* Kinetic Measurement of Bovine and Human Serum Albumine Interaction with Selected Chalcones and Their Cyclic Chalcone Analogues by UV Spectrophotometry

“…Chalcones (1) are intermediary compounds of the biosynthetic pathway of a very large and widespread group of plant constituents known collectively as flavonoids [2]. Among the naturally occurring chalcones and their synthetic analogues, several compounds displayed antineoplastic activity [2] [3].…”

“…Among the naturally occurring chalcones and their synthetic analogues, several compounds displayed antineoplastic activity [2] [3]. Recently we have investigated in vitro antineoplastic activity of several synthetic chalcones and chalcone analogues [4]- [6].…”