Nonthermal Plasma-Induced Degradation of Morin and Enhancement of Biological Activities.

In the present study, non-thermal dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma of induced structural changes of morin resulted in the isolation of one previously undescribed benzofuranone derivative, along with two known compounds. The chemical structures of these degradation products were elucidated by UV, NMR and FAB-MS spectroscopic analyses. The isolated three compounds showed potent antioxidative activities in two different tests, with IC50 values in the range of 12.9-41.8 μm in the 2,2'-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS+ ) radical scavenging activity, 19.0-71.9 μm for hydroxyl radical scavenging activity test. Furthermore, the new methoxylated benzofuranone exhibited enhancement of inhibitory effects against pancreatic lipase with an IC50 value of 90.7±1.6 μm, when compared to the parent morin. These results suggested that the degradation products isolated from plasma exposed morin might be beneficial for prevention of obesity and related diseases.