title: Interaction of ferulic acid derivatives with human erythrocytes monitored by pulse field gradient NMR diffusion and NMR relaxation studies.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmaceutical and Technological Science, University of Siena, Via della Diana 2, 53100 Siena, Italy.
authors.forename: Cecilia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Anselmi
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Bernardi
authors.forename: Marisanna
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Centini
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Gaggelli
authors.forename: Nicola
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Gaggelli
authors.forename: Daniela
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Valensin
authors.forename: Gianni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Valensin
mesh_terms: 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
chemical_list: D000975:Antioxidants; D003373:Coumaric Acids; C004999:ferulic acid