In vivo anti-diabetic activity of derivatives of isoliquiritigenin and liquiritigenin

Isoliquiritigenin (ISL), a chalcone and liquiritigenin (LTG), a flavonoid found in licorice roots and several other plants. ISL displays antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antitumor and hepatoprotective activities whereas LTG is an estrogenic compound, acts as an agonist selective for the β-subtype of the oestrogen receptor. Both the phenolics were isolated from the rhizomes of Glycyrrhiza glabra. Five derivatives from ISL and four derivatives from LTG were synthesized. All the compounds were established by extensive spectroscopic analyses and screened through oral glucose tolerance test to gain preliminary information regarding the antihyperglycemic effect in normal Swiss albino male mice. ISL (1), ISL derivatives 3, 4, 5, 7 and LTG derivatives 9 and 10 showed significant blood glucose lowering effect. The structure–activity relationship indicated that the presence of ether and ester groups in ISL and LTG analogues are important for exhibiting the activity. Compounds 1, 4 and 10 were selected for in vivo antidiabetic activity and found to be potential candidates for treatment of diabetes. It is the first report on antidiabetic activity of ISL derivative 4 and LTG derivative 10.