Paeonol is a phenolic compound found in

peonies The peony or paeony is a flowering plant in the genus ''Paeonia'' , the only genus in the family Paeoniaceae . Peonies are native to Asia, Europe and Western North America. Scientists differ on the number of species that can be distinguished, ...

such as ''

Paeonia suffruticosa Paeonia or Paionia may refer to: * The genus ''Paeonia'', which comprises all peony plants * Paeonia (kingdom), an ancient state occupying roughly the same area as the present-day Republic of North Macedonia * Paionia (municipality) Paionia ( e ...

'' (moutan cortex), in ''

Arisaema erubescens ''Arisaema erubescens'' is a flowering plant species in the genus ''Arisaema'', endemic to Nepal. Description The species' tuber is globose and is wide. It have 3 cataphylls which are dark green and carry white spots which are long and have an ...

'', and in ''

Dioscorea japonica ''Dioscorea japonica'', known as East Asian mountain yam, yamaimo, or Japanese mountain yam, is a type of yam (''Dioscorea'') native to Japan (including Ryukyu and Bonin Islands), Korea, China, Taiwan, and Assam. ''Dioscorea japonica'' is used ...

''. It is a chemical compound found in some

traditional Chinese medicine Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is an alternative medical practice drawn from traditional medicine in China. It has been described as "fraught with pseudoscience", with the majority of its treatments having no logical mechanism of acti ...

Biological effects

A number of biological effects of paeonol ''

in vitro ''In vitro'' (meaning in glass, or ''in the glass'') studies are performed with microorganisms, cells, or biological molecules outside their normal biological context. Colloquially called " test-tube experiments", these studies in biology ...

'' or in

animal model An animal model (short for animal disease model) is a living, non-human, often genetic-engineered animal used during the research and investigation of human disease, for the purpose of better understanding the disease process without the risk of ha ...

s have been observed. Paeonol increases levels of cortical

cytochrome oxidase The enzyme cytochrome c oxidase or Complex IV, (was , now reclassified as a translocasEC 7.1.1.9 is a large transmembrane protein complex found in bacteria, archaea, and mitochondria of eukaryotes. It is the last enzyme in the respiratory elect ...

and vascular

actin Actin is a family of globular multi-functional proteins that form microfilaments in the cytoskeleton, and the thin filaments in muscle fibrils. It is found in essentially all eukaryotic cells, where it may be present at a concentration of ov ...

and improves behavior in a rat model of Alzheimer's disease. Paeonol also reduced

cerebral infarction A cerebral infarction is the pathologic process that results in an area of necrotic tissue in the brain (cerebral infarct). It is caused by disrupted blood supply ( ischemia) and restricted oxygen supply ( hypoxia), most commonly due to thromboemb ...

involving the superoxide anion and microglia activation in ischemia-reperfusion injured rats. Paeonol shows antimutagenic activities. It also has

anti-inflammatory Anti-inflammatory is the property of a substance or treatment that reduces inflammation or swelling. Anti-inflammatory drugs, also called anti-inflammatories, make up about half of analgesics. These drugs remedy pain by reducing inflammation as o ...

and analgesic effects in carrageenan-evoked thermal

hyperalgesia Hyperalgesia ( or ; 'hyper' from Greek ὑπέρ (huper, “over”), '-algesia' from Greek algos, ἄλγος (pain)) is an abnormally increased sensitivity to pain, which may be caused by damage to nociceptors or peripheral nerves and can ...

. Paeonol inhibits

anaphylactic reaction Anaphylaxis is a serious, potentially fatal allergic reaction and medical emergency that is rapid in onset and requires immediate medical attention regardless of use of emergency medication on site. It typically causes more than one of the follo ...

by regulating

histamine Histamine is an organic nitrogenous compound involved in local immune responses, as well as regulating physiological functions in the gut and acting as a neurotransmitter for the brain, spinal cord, and uterus. Since histamine was discovered ...

and

TNF-α Tumor necrosis factor (TNF, cachexin, or cachectin; formerly known as tumor necrosis factor alpha or TNF-α) is an adipokine and a cytokine. TNF is a member of the TNF superfamily, which consists of various transmembrane proteins with a homolog ...

. Paeonol has weak

MAO-A Monoamine oxidase A, also known as MAO-A, is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the ''MAOA'' gene. This gene is one of two neighboring gene family members that encode mitochondrial enzymes which catalyze the oxidative deamination of amines, s ...

and

MAO-B Monoamine oxidase B, also known as MAOB, is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the ''MAOB'' gene. The protein encoded by this gene belongs to the flavin monoamine oxidase family. It is an enzyme located in the outer mitochondrial membrane. I ...

inhibiting effects with IC₅₀ values of 54.6 μM and 42.5 μM respectively.

Metal complex

Metal complexes of paeonol shows tetrahedral and octahedral coordination geometry in the absence and presence of solvent pyridine respectively.

References

{{Reflist Aromatic ketones O-methylated phenols