In vitro study reveals potent antioxidant and α-glucosidase inhibitory activities in stilbene dimers from Hypericum patulum, suggesting potential leads for antidiabetic drug discovery.
Three previously undescribed phenolic dimers, including a pair of enantiomeric stilbene dimers (1a/1b) and one optically pure stilbene dimer (2), were separated from the fruits of the Miao medicine Hypericum patulum Thunb. Structural clarification and assignment of absolute configurations were achieved through 1D/2D NMR spectroscopy, optical rotation measurements, and analysis of experimental electronic circular dichroism (ECD) spectra. Their antioxidant and anti-α-glucosidase activities were evaluated. The new stilbene dimers exhibited potent antioxidant activity in both DPPH and ABTS free radical scavenging assays. Moreover, (−)-caesalstilbene C (1b) demonstrated the highest anti-DPPH and anti-ABTS activities among all isolated compounds. Compounds 1–2 also showed significant α-glucosidase-inhibitory activity, comparable to the positive control acarbose. These findings provide a foundation for developing novel antioxidants or α-glucosidase inhibitors as lead compounds in the search for new antidiabetic agents.
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Wang et al. (2026) studied this question.
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