Antioxidant effects of the highly-substituted carbazole alkaloids and their related carbazoles

Antioxidant activities of 3-oxygenated and 3,4-dioxygenated carbazole alkaloids and their related carbazoles were comprehensively evaluated. In all assay systems, the 3,8-dihydroxycarbazoles carbazomadurin A (2) and B (3), and their synthetic precursors 2a and 3a exhibited higher antioxidant activities than the 3-monohydroxycarbazoles carazostatin (1), and the synthetic precursors 4a and 4b of carquinostatin A (4). In particular, 2a and 3a exhibited strong scavenging activities due to the reducing ability of formyl group at the C-5 position of carbazoles. The results suggest that these compounds could serve as useful clues for designing and developing novel antioxidants.