Kurarinone

Kurarinone, a flavanoid derived from shrub Sophora flavescens,Kurarinone exhibits anti-tumor, estrogenic, and anti-inflammatory activities, it also shows strong inhibitory effect on immune responses. Kurarinone may ameliorate chronic inflammatory skin diseases through the suppression of pathogenic CD4(+) T-cell differentiation and the overall immune response.Kurarinone, a lavandulyl flavanone, was isolated from a polyphenolic extract of the roots of Sophora flavescens using fractionation guided by estrogenic activity, which was determined by recombinant yeast and Ishikawa Var-I bioassays. METHODS AND RESULTS:Kurarinone showed weak estrogenic activity both in the yeast screen and in the Ishikawa Var-I assay with EC(50) values of 4.6 and 1.66 microM, respectively. Furthermore, Kurarinone was found to have potent cytotoxic activity (IC(50) value = 22.2 microM) against human MCF-7/6 breast cancer cells in the sulforhodamine-B assay.