Antioxidant and Anti-Inflammatory Flavonoids from the Flowers of Chuju, a Medical Cultivar of Chrysanthemum Morifolim Ramat

Chuju, the flower of <em>Chrysanthemum morifolim</em> cv. Chuju, is a traditional medicine-food material used in China. Bioassay-guided chemical investigation on Chuju led the isolation of 16 flavonoids (<strong>1-16</strong>) characterized as quercetin (<strong>1</strong>), isorhamnetin 3-<em>O</em>-β-D-glucoside (<strong>2</strong>), eriodictyol (<strong>3</strong>), pyracanthoside (<strong>4</strong>), apigenin (<strong>5</strong>), apigetrin (<strong>6</strong>), acacetin (<strong>7</strong>), acacipetalin (<strong>8</strong>), luteolin (<strong>9</strong>), diosmetin (<strong>10</strong>), spinacetin (<strong>11</strong>), axillarin (<strong>12</strong>), bonanzin (<strong>13</strong>), cirsiliol (<strong>14</strong>), chrysosplenol D (<strong>15</strong>) and artemetin (<strong>16</strong>). Among them, compounds (11-16) were first reported from the <em>Chrysanthemum</em> species. Chuju flavonoids displayed strong antioxidant in DPPH (1, 1-diphenyl-2- picrylhydrazyl) radical scavenging assay, and high anti-inflammatory activity by inhibiting NO production in LPS-induced RAW 264.7 cells. These findings suggests that Chuju is an ideal source of natural flavonoids with significant antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects, and is worthy of further development as health-promoting food or supplement.