Ligand Binding Affinities of Arctigenin and Its Demethylated Metabolites to Estrogen Receptor Alpha

Phytoestrogens are defined as plant-derived compounds with estrogen-like activities according to their chemical structures and activities. Plant lignans are generally categorized as phytoestrogens. It was reported that (−)-arctigenin, the aglycone of arctiin, was demethylated to (−)-dihydroxyenterolactone (DHENL) by Eubacterium (E.) sp. ARC-2. Through stepwise demethylation, E. sp. ARC-2 produced six intermediates, three mono-desmethylarctigenins and three di-desmethylarctigenins. In the present study, ligand binding affinities of (−)-arctigenin and its seven metabolites, including DHENL, were investigated for an estrogen receptor alpha, and found that demethylated metabolites had stronger binding affinities than (−)-arctigenin using a ligand binding screen assay method. The IC(50) value of (2R,3R)-2-(4-hydroxy-3-methoxybenzyl)-3-(3,4-dihydroxybenzyl)-butyrolactone was 7.9 × 10(−4) M.