Antioxidant activities of Swertia decussata xanthones.

The lipid peroxidation inhibitory activities of four hydroxyxanthones, isolated from the whole plant Swertia decussata, were evaluated for the first time. The most promising antioxidant among the xanthones, 1,7,8-trihydroxy-3-methoxyxanthone (swertianine, 4) was also tested for its scavenging potential against DPPH and superoxide radicals. The data clearly revealed good antioxidant activity of the xanthones, especially 4 which also showed strong protection against y-ray induced pBR322 DNA damage. A comparison of the radioprotecting activities of the monomethylated tetrahydroxyxanthone 4 with that of its congener, 1,3,7-trihydroxy-8-methoxyxanthone (5) revealed that the radioprotecting activity was not affected by the position of methylation.