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Planta Med 1998; 64(6): 555-558
DOI: 10.1055/s-2006-957513
Papers
Natural Product Chemistry
© Georg Thieme Verlag Stuttgart · New York

A New Antioxidative 1,3-Benzodioxole from Melissa officinalis

Motoyuki Tagashira, Yasuyuki Ohtake
  • Bioscience Research & Development Laboratory, Asahi Breweries, Ltd., Ibaraki, Japan
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Publication History

1997

1998

Publication Date:
01 February 2007 (online)

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Abstract

Antioxidative compounds contained in the leaves of Melissa officinalis L. (lemon balm) were investigated. Six major compounds, protocatechuic acid (or 3,4-dihydroxybenzoic acid, 1), 2-(3′,4′-dihydroxyphenyl)-1,3-benzodioxole-5-aldehyde (2), caffeic acid (3), rosmarinic acid (4), caffeic acid methyl ester (5), and rosmarinic acid methyl ester (6) were isolated from the extract of the plant and the 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging activity was measured. Among them, compound 2 showed the most potent activity, about ten-fold that of ascorbic acid and of α-tocopherol. The compound had a characteristic 1,3-benzodioxole structure and was easily degraded into two molecules of protocatechualdehyde.

Key words

Melissa officinalis L. - Labiatae - antioxidative activity - 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) - rosmarinic acid - 1,3-benzodioxole structure - protocatechualdehyde

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