Hinokinin is a dibenzylbutyrolactone lignan, derived from various species of plants. It is a potential antichagonistic agent and has shown to possess neuroprotective effects as well. It is also found to have anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, antiviral and

antifungal An antifungal medication, also known as an antimycotic medication, is a pharmaceutical fungicide or fungistatic used to treat and prevent mycosis such as athlete's foot, ringworm, candidiasis (thrush), serious systemic infections such as crypto ...

properties. Hinokinin was isolated for the first time by Yoshiki and Ishiguro in 1933 from hinoki wood.

Chemical properties

Hinokinin is a colourless crystalline compound. It can be isolated from various species of ''

Chamaecyparis ''Chamaecyparis'', common names cypress or false cypress (to distinguish it from related cypresses), is a genus of conifers in the cypress family Cupressaceae, native to eastern Asia (Japan and Taiwan) and to the western and eastern margins of th ...

'', '' Zanthoxylum'', '' Phyllanthus'', ''

Aristolochia ''Aristolochia'' () is a large plant genus with over 500 species that is the type genus of the family Aristolochiaceae. Its members are commonly known as birthwort, pipevine or Dutchman's pipe and are widespread and occur in the most diverse clima ...

'', '' Piper'', '' Virola'', '' Linum'' and '' Bursera''. It is also synthesised from pinoresinol.

Biological effects

Cytotoxic actions

Hinokinin has shown to induce

apoptosis Apoptosis (from grc, ἀπόπτωσις, apóptōsis, 'falling off') is a form of programmed cell death that occurs in multicellular organisms. Biochemical events lead to characteristic cell changes (morphology) and death. These changes incl ...

and promote antitumor actions on various cancer cell lines '' in vitro''.

Anti-inflammatory actions

Hinokinin has been shown to inhibit the generation of superoxide molecules by neutrophils and also decreases elastase secretion from neutrophils. It has also shown to reduce LPS induced

nitric oxide Nitric oxide (nitrogen oxide or nitrogen monoxide) is a colorless gas with the formula . It is one of the principal oxides of nitrogen. Nitric oxide is a free radical: it has an unpaired electron, which is sometimes denoted by a dot in its che ...

production from

macrophage Macrophages (abbreviated as M φ, MΦ or MP) ( el, large eaters, from Greek ''μακρός'' (') = large, ''φαγεῖν'' (') = to eat) are a type of white blood cell of the immune system that engulfs and digests pathogens, such as cancer cel ...

s.The anti-inflammatory property of hinokinin is mediated by the NF-''kB'' signalling mechanism.

Anti-parasitic actions

Hinokinin has been shown to be an antitrypanosomal agent. Its use as a treatment for trypanosomiasis is still being researched.

Anti-viral actions

It has shown significant antiviral activity against human hepatitis B virus, HIV and SARS-CoV.

References

{{Reflist Lignans Antiviral drugs Severe acute respiratory syndrome Anti-inflammatory agents Antifungals Benzodioxoles Lactones