Theoretical exploration of iseluxine as a promising natural antioxidant
摘要
Iseluxine (ISL), an isoquinolinone alkaloid derived from Iseia luxurians, exhibits remarkable antioxidant potential, surpassing conventional antioxidants such as vitamin C and BHA in vitro. To clarify its radical-scavenging behavior, density functional theory (DFT) calculations were conducted against key reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (ROS and RNS), including HO•, CH₃O•, CH₃OO•, HOO•, NO•, NO₂•, and O₂•–. Three mechanisms, formal hydrogen atom transfer (fHAT), sequential electron transfer–proton transfer (SETPT), and sequential proton loss–electron transfer (SPLET) were examined in gas, water, and lipid-like (pentylethanoate) media. Thermodynamic analysis identified the O6–H bond as the most reactive site due to its low bond dissociation enthalpy and proton affinity. Kinetic modeling indicated efficient HOO• scavenging via the SET pathway in water, with a rate constant of 1.8 × 106 M⁻1 s⁻1, significantly higher than that of Trolox. ISL also showed strong activity against CH₃O•, CH₃OO•, and NO₂, but limited reactivity toward NO, and O₂•–, emphasizing its selective antioxidant potential.
MethodsDensity functional theory (DFT) calculations were performed using the M06-2X functional with the 6-31G(d,p)//6–311 + + G(d,p) basis set for single-point energy, geometry optimizations and kinetic calculations. Thermodynamic and kinetic parameters were obtained following the QM-ORSA protocol, combined with the SMD solvation model to simulate aqueous and pentylethanoate media.