Regioselective synthesis of di-C-glycosylflavones possessing anti-inflammation activities

Three methods are utilized to synthesize a variety of 6,8-di-C-glycosylflavones bearing identical or distinct glycosyl moieties. Some C-glycosylation compounds are found to have better anti-inflammation activities than the parent flavones. Among them, 6,8-di-C-glucosylapigenin (known as vicenin-2) shows inhibition of TNF-alpha expression and NO production with IC50 values of 6.8 and 5.2 mu M, respectively.