Lonicera hypoglauca inhibits xanthine oxidase and reduces serum uric acid in mice.

Xanthine oxidase (XOD) catalyzes the oxidation of hypoxanthine to xanthine and then to uric acid, and is a key enzyme in the pathogenesis of hyperuricemia. The ability of extracts of Lonicera hypoglauca (Caprifoliaceae) to inhibit XOD was investigated in this study. An ethanol extract (LH-crude) of the leaves of L. hypoglauca and its derived EtOAc soluble sub-fractions (LH-EA) significantly inhibited XOD activity, with IC50 values for LH-crude and LH-EA of 48.8 and 35.2 microg/mL. Moreover, LH-EA reduced serum urate levels IN VIVO in a potassium oxonate-induced hyperuricemic mouse model, by 70.1% and 93.7% of the hyperuricemic untreated group at doses of 300 and 500 mg/kg of LH-EA, respectively. Finally, we used bioactivity-guided fractionation to isolate a new bisflavonoid, loniceraflavone, which showed significant inhibition of XOD (IC50=0.85 microg/mL). These results suggest that L. hypoglauca and its extracts may have a considerable potential for development as an anti-hyperuricemia agent for clinical application.