The Gastrointestinal Tract Metabolism and Pharmacological Activities of Grosvenorine, a Major and Characteristic Flavonoid in the Fruits of Siraitia grosvenorii

Grosvenorine is the major flavonoid compound of the fruits of Siraitia grosvenorii (Swingle) C. Jeffrey, a medical plant endemic to China. In the present study, for the first time, the grosvenorine metabolism in an in vitro simulated human gastrointestinal tract (including artificial gastric juice, artificial intestinal juice and intestinal flora), as well as its pharmacological activities (including anti-complement, Antibacterial and antioxidant activities), was investigated. The results showed that grosvenorine was metabolized by human intestinal flora; its four metabolites were isolated by semi-preparative HPLC and identified by NMR as kaempferitrin, afzelin, α-rhamnoisorobin, and kaempferol. Further pharmacological evaluation showed that grosvenorine exhibited good Antibacterial and antioxidant activities, with its metabolites possessing more potent activities. Although grosvenorine did not present obvious anticomplement activity, its metabolites showed interesting activities. This study revealed that intestinal bacteria play an important role in the gastrointestinal metabolism of grosvenorine and significantly affect its pharmacological activities.