Antioxidant Properties of cis-Z,Z'-3a.7a',7a.3a'-Dihydroxy- ligustilide on Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells in Vitro

A new chemical component, cis-Z,Z'-3a.7a',7a.3a'-dihydroxyligustilide, was isolated from Angelica sinensis and its structure elucidated from its NMR and MS spectra and confirmed by X-ray single crystal diffraction analysis. We also explored the antioxidative properties of cis-Z,Z'-3a.7a',7a.3a'-dihydroxyligustilide on human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) against injuries induced by hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2)) using an MTT assay and flow cytometry analysis. In addition, the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), malondialdehyde (MDA), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), nitric oxide (NO) and reactive oxygen species (ROS) were determined. We found that cis-Z,Z'-3a.7a',7a.3a'-dihydroxyligustilide increased the viability of HUVECs injured by H(2)O(2) in a dose-dependent manner, reduced the apoptosis of HUVEC, and enhanced HUVEC proliferation. Our results demonstrated the remarkable in vitro antioxidative activities of this compound, indicating that it could be a potential antioxidant with protective effects against H(2)O(2)-induced HUVEC injuries.