1991 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary

Studies on free radical scavengers of microbial origin

Research Project

Project/Area Number	02660129
Research Category	Grant-in-Aid for General Scientific Research (C)
Allocation Type	Single-year Grants
Research Field	製造化学・食品
Research Institution	The University of Tokyo
Principal Investigator	HAYAKAWA Yoichi The University of Tokyo, Institute of Applied Microbiology, Associate Professor, 応用微生物研究所, 助教授 (20208606)
Project Period (FY)	1990 – 1991
Keywords	Free radicals / Lipid peroxidation / Streptomyces / Benthocyanin / Phenazine
Research Abstract	Oxygen-derived free radicals have been known to play a role in a variety of diseases such as inflammation, atherosclerosis, cerebral ischemia and cardiovascular diseases. In the course of a screening for free radical scavengers of microbial origin, an actinomycete identified as Streptomyces prunicolor was found to produce three new active substances, designated benthocyanins A, B and C. The structures of the benthocyanins were elucidated to consist of a modified phenazine chromophore with a phenyl group and a geranyl side chain based on NNM and mass spectral analysis. Benthocyanins A, B and C inhibited lipid peroxidation in rat liver microsomes at the IC_<50>s of 0.29, 0.16 and 0.26 mug/ml, respectively. The benthocyanins also inhibited hemolysis of rat erythrocytes by a radical producer, AAPH. The IC_<50>s were 0.42 mug/ml for benthocyanin A, 0.92 mug/ml for B and 0.64 mug/ml for C.