Abstract
Anthraquinones, naturally occurring bioactive compounds, have been reported to exhibit various biological activities, including anti-inflammatory, antiviral, antimicrobial, and anticancer effects. In this study, we biotransformed three selected anthraquinones into their novel O-glucoside derivatives, expressing a versatile glycosyltransferase (YjiC) from Bacillus licheniformis DSM 13 in Escherichia coli. Anthraflavic acid, alizarin, and 2-amino-3-hydroxyanthraquinone were exogenously fed to recombinant E. coli as substrate for biotransformation. The products anthraflavic acid-O-glucoside, alizarin 2-O-β-d-glucoside, and 2-amino-3-O-glucosyl anthraquinone produced in the culture broths were characterized by various chromatographic and spectroscopic analyses. The comparative anti-proliferative assay against various cancer cells (gastric cancer-AGS, uterine cervical cancer-HeLa, and liver cancer-HepG2) were remarkable, since the synthesized glucoside compounds showed more than 60% of cell growth inhibition at concentrations ranging from ~50 μM to 100 μM. Importantly, one of the synthesized glucoside derivatives, alizarin 2-O-glucoside inhibited more than 90% of cell growth in all the cancer cell lines tested.
Highlights
Anthraquinones are naturally occurring phenolic compounds based on the 9,10-anthraquinone skeleton
Anthraquinones are the largest group of natural pigments, with potential applications in various fields, such as an anticancer, antibacterial agents, and anti-inflammatory agents in pharmaceutical medicine [2,23,24]
The industrial significance of anthraquinones is as synthetic dyes providing brilliant colors, providing the natural red chromogen [25], and in the application of the production of hydrogen peroxide [26], etc. These phenolic compounds can be naturally obtained from various sources such as plant, bacteria, fungi, and lichens [27,28]
Summary
Anthraquinones are naturally occurring phenolic compounds based on the 9,10-anthraquinone skeleton. They are widely available from plants, microbes, fungi, and lichens [1]. Anthraquinones have various biological benefits [2,3]. Anthraquinones of the Rubiaceae family exhibit interesting in vivo biological activities such as antimicrobial [4], antifungal [5], hypotensive and analgesic [6], anti-malarial [7], anti-oxidant [8], antileukemic, and mutagenic functions [9]. Several anthraquinones are widely used in the treatment of cancer. They display cytotoxic activities through interaction with
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
