Interaction of ferulic acid derivatives with human erythrocytes monitored by pulse field gradient NMR diffusion and NMR relaxation studies.
Ferulic acid (Fer), a natural anti-oxidant and chemo-protector, is able to suppress experimental carcinogenesis in the forestomach, lungs, skin, tongue and colon. Several Fer derivatives have been suggested as promising candidates for cancer prevention, being the biological activity related also to the capacity of partitioning between aqueous and lipid phases. In the present work, pulsed field gradient (PFG) NMR diffusion measurement and NMR relaxation rates have been adopted for investigating the interaction of three Fer derivatives (Fer-C11, Fer-C12 and Fer-C13) with human erythrocytes. Binding to the erythrocyte membrane has been shown for all derivatives, which displayed a similar interaction mode such that the aromatic moiety and the terminal part of the alkyl chain were the most affected. Quantitative analysis of the diffusion coefficients was used to show that Fer-C12 and Fer-C13 display higher affinity for the cell membrane when compared with Fer-C11. These findings agree with the higher anti-oxidant activity of the two derivatives.
Anselmi
Cecilia
C
Department of Pharmaceutical and Technological Science, University of Siena, Via della Diana 2, 53100 Siena, Italy.
Bernardi
Francesca
F
Centini
Marisanna
M
Gaggelli
Elena
E
Gaggelli
Nicola
N
Valensin
Daniela
D
Valensin
Gianni
G
D000975:Antioxidants / Q000378:metabolism*; D003373:Coumaric Acids / Q000378:metabolism*; D004058:Diffusion; D004910:Erythrocyte Membrane / Q000378:metabolism; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D019906:Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, Biomolecular
D000975:Antioxidants; D003373:Coumaric Acids; C004999:ferulic acid