Strategy for the vibrational circular dichroism study of a glycosylflavonoid evaluated as its peracetate. The case of bioactive 7- O - β -D-glucopyranosylchrysin

As it is difficult to study polyhydroxylated natural products by vibrational circular dichroism (VCD) due to their very limited solubility in infrared transparent solvents, 7- O - β -D-glucopyranosylchrysin ( 1 ), isolated from Mimosa rosei, was acetylated to provide 7- O -(2ʹʹ,3ʹʹ,4ʹʹ,6ʹʹ-tetraacetyl- β -D-glucopyranosyl)-5-acetylchrysin ( 2 ). Density functional theory (DFT) VCD spectra of 2 were calculated using the B3LYP, B3PW91, and PBEPBE functionals and the DGDZVP basis set to ascertain a good level of theory for calculating this kind of compounds. Statistical comparison of the experimental and calculated VCD spectra revealed that the frequently employed B3LYP and B3PW91 functionals provided good confidence levels with similar statistical results, allowing band assignments for the pyranoside portion of 2. This is the first report on a satisfactory statistical validation of a VCD measurement for such a glycopyranoside. In addition, in vitro cytotoxicity studies of 1 and 2 against the human colon cell line HT-29 and the human melanoma cell line UACC-62 by the MTT method were assayed. Moreover, the immunomodulatory response of 1 and 2 was evaluated by measuring TNF- α, IL-1 β, and IL-10 levels by the ELISA technique. The results revealed low cytotoxicity of both compounds against cancer cells. However, flavonoid 1 upregulated the IL-1 β production in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced THP-1 macrophage, thus suggesting the potential of this molecule as an immunostimulant for cancer treatment.