Biosynthesis of resveratrol derivatives and evaluation of their anti-inflammatory activity

Abstract

Resveratrol is a typical plant phenolic compound whose derivatives are synthesized through hydroxylation, O-methylation, prenylation, and oligomerization. Resveratrol and its derivatives exhibit anti-neurodegenerative, anti-rheumatoid, and anti-inflammatory effects. Owing to the diverse biological activities of these compounds and their importance in human health, this study attempted to synthesize five resveratrol derivatives (isorhapontigenin, pterostilbene, 4-methoxyresveratrol, piceatannol, and rhapontigenin) using Escherichia coli. Two-culture system was used to improve the final yield of resveratrol derivatives. Resveratrol was synthesized in the first E. coli cell that harbored genes for resveratrol biosynthesis including TAL (tyrosine ammonia lyase), 4CL (4-coumaroyl CoA ligase), STS (stilbene synthase) and genes for tyrosine biosynthesis such as aroG (deoxyphosphoheptonate aldolase) and tyrA (prephenate dehydrogenase). Thereafter, culture filtrate from the first cell was used for the modification reaction carried out using the second E. coli harboring hydroxylase and/or O-methyltransferase. Approximately, 89.8 mg/L of resveratrol was synthesized and using the same, five derivatives were prepared with a conversion rate of 88.2% to 22.9%. Using these synthesized resveratrol derivatives, we evaluated their anti-inflammatory activity. 4-Methoxyresveratrol, pterostilbene and isorhapontigenin showed the anti-inflammatory effects without any toxicity. In addition, pterostilbene exhibited the enhanced anti-inflammatory effects for macrophages compared to resveratrol.