Synthesis and Antioxidant Properties of Psoralen Derivatives

Five psoralen derivatives were synthesized and the structures of them were characterized by ¹ H-NMR, ¹³ C-NMR, and IR. The antioxidant properties of the compounds were tested by inhibiting the free radical-initiated DNA oxidation and scavenging the radical reaction. The results showed that the effective stoichiometric factors (n) of the compounds V and IV could reach 2.00 and 2.11 in the system of inhibiting the DNA oxidation reaction initiated by 2,2'-Azobis(2-methylpropionamidine) dihydrochloride (AAPH). In the inhibition of ⋅OH-oxidation of the DNA system, compounds I~V showed antioxidant properties. The thiobarbituric acid absorbance (TBARS) percentages of compounds IV and V were 76.19 % and 78.84 %. Compounds I~V could also inhibit Cu²⁺ /GSH-oxidation of DNA, and all compounds exhibited good antioxidant properties except compound II (94.00 %). All the five compounds were able to trap diammonium 2,2'-azinobis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonate) salt radical (ABTS⁺ ⋅), 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical (DPPH⋅) and 2,6-di-tert-butyl-alpha-(3,5-di-tert-butyl-4-oxo-2,5-cyclohexadien-p-tolylox radical (galvinoxyl⋅). The ability of compounds I~V to scavenge those free radicals can be measured by the k values. The k values ranged from 0.07 to 0.82 in scavenging ABTS⁺ ⋅, galvinoxyl, and DPPH radicals, respectively.