Identification of Flavone Glucuronide Isomers by Metal Complexation and Tandem Mass Spectrometry: Regioselectivity of UDP-Glucuronosyltransferase Isozymes in the Biotransformation of Flavones

摘要

Flavone Glucuronide isomers of five flavones (chrysin, apigenin, luteolin, baicalein, and scutellarein) were differentiated by collision induced dissociation (CID) of [Co(II) (flavone-H) (4,7-diphenyl-1,10-phenanthroline)2]⁺ complexes. The complexes were generated via post-column addition of a metal/ligand solution after separation of the glucuronide products generated upon incubation of each flavone with an array of UDP-glucuronosyl-transferase (UGT) isozymes. Elucidation of the glucuronide isomers allowed a systematic investigation of the regioselectivity of twelve human UDP-glucuronosyl-transferase (UGT) isozymes, including eight UGT1A and four UGT2B isozymes. Glucuronidation of the 7-OH position was the preferred site for all the flavones except for luteolin, which possessed adjacent hydroxyl groups on the B ring. For all flavones and UGT isozymes, glucuronidation of the 5-OH position was never observed. As confirmed by the metal complexation/MS/MS strategy, glucuronidation of the 6-OH position only occurred for baicalein and scutellarein when incubated with three of the UGT isozymes.