Niruriflavone, a new Antioxidant Flavone Sulfonic Acid from Phyllanthus niruri

A new flavone sulfonic acid 1 named niruriflavone was isolated from the 70% ethanolic extract of the whole plant of Phyllanthus niruri (Euphorbiaceae), together with 6,10,14-trimethyl-2- pentadecanone, hypophyllanthin, gallic acid, brevifolin carboxylic acid, methyl brevifolin carboxylate, isoquercetin, quercetin-3-O-ß-D-glucopyranosyl(1→4)-α-rhamnopyranoside, corilagin, and isocorilagin, whose structures were determined by spectroscopic methods and comparison with published data. In an ABTS cation radical reduction assay, niruriflavone (1) exhibited potent radical scavenging properties. A biological test system based on bioluminescence of the dinoflagellate Lingulodinium polyedrum did not reveal any prooxidant properties of 1 at 50 μM