To investigate the effect of C-glycosylation at different positions of luteolin, the structure-activity relationships of luteolin and a pair of isomeric C-glycosylated derivatives orientin and isoorientin, were evaluated. We investigated the effects of C-glycosylation on the antioxidant, anti-Alzheimer's disease (AD), anti-diabetic and anti-inflammatory effects of luteolin and its two C-glycosides via in vitro assays of peroxynitrite (ONOO(-)), total reactive oxygen species (ROS), nitric oxide (NO), 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydraxyl (DPPH), aldose reductase, protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B (PTP1B), acetylcholinesterase (AChE), butyrylcholinesterase (BChE), and β-site amyloid precursor cleaving enzyme 1 (BACE1), and cellular assays of NO production and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS)/cyclooxygenase-2 expression in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells. Of the three compounds, isoorientin showed the highest scavenging activity against DPPH, NO, and ONOO(-), while luteolin was the most potent inhibitor of ROS generation. In addition, luteolin showed the most potent anti-AD activity as determined by its inhibition of AChE, BChE, and BACE1. With respect to anti-diabetic effects, luteolin exerted the strongest inhibitory activity against PTP1B and rat lens aldose reductase. Luteolin also inhibited NO production and iNOS protein expression in LPS-stimulated macrophages, while orientin and isoorientin were inactive at the same concentrations. The effects of C-glycosylation at different positions of luteolin may be closely linked to the intensity and modulation of antioxidant, anti-AD, anti-diabetic, and anti-inflammatory effects of luteolin and its C-glycosylated derivatives.
