1. Four glucuronic acid conjugates of licochalcone A (Lica), and their metabolites, have been synthesized using rabbit and pig liver microsomes and purified by preparative hplc. 2. The glucuronides were identified as E-Lica 4'-O-beta-glucuronide, E and Z-Lica 4-O-beta-glucuronide and a mono-glucuronide conjugate of a beta-hydroxylated Lica metabolite. The metabolites were identified by hplc-nmr (one and two-dimensional nmr) as well as hplc-ms. 3. At pH 8.5 Lica reacted with N-acetyl-L-cysteine giving the two epimeric conjugates, which were then isolated by preparative hplc and identified by one and two-dimensional nmr spectroscopic methods. 4. Only two glucuronic acid conjugates (E- and Z-Lica 4-O-beta-glucuronide) were found in the urine of rat after i.p. administration of a single dose of Lica.

A high-performance liquid chromatographic method has been developed for the analysis of the novel antiparasitic agent, licochalcone A (Lica), and three of its glucuronic acid conjugates in plasma and urine. The high-performance liquid chromatography assay was performed using gradient elution and UV detection at 360 nm. The proposed technique is selective, reliable and sensitive. The limits of quantification for Lica are 0.2 microg/ml in plasma and 0.14 microg/ml in urine, 1.2 microg/ml for the 4'-glucuronide in plasma and 1.4 microg/ml in urine, and 2.0 microg/ml for the 4-glucuronide in plasma and 3.2 microg/ml in urine. The reproducibility of the analytical method according to the statistical coefficients is 7% or below. The accuracy of the method is good, that is, the relative error is below 10%. The stability of Lica and its glucuronides in urine and plasma samples has been assessed during storage in the autosampler and freezer. The applicability of the assay for determining Lica and its intact glucuronide conjugates in biological fluids was shown using a single dose study in rat.

Licochalcone A, an oxygenated chalcone isolated from the roots of Chinese licorice plant, inhibited the growth of both Leishmania major and Leishmania donovani promastigotes and amastigotes. The structure of the licochalcone A was established by mass and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopies and by synthesis, and its purity was verified by high-pressure liquid chromatography. The 50% inhibition of growth of logarithmic- and stationary-phase promastigotes of L. major, as measured by [3H]thymidine uptake, were 4 and 2.5 micrograms/ml, respectively. The growth of L. major promastigotes was totally inhibited after a 20-h incubation period with licochalcone A at 5 micrograms/ml. At a concentration of 0.5 microgram/ml, licochalcone A markedly reduced the infection rate of human peripheral blood monocyte-derived macrophages and U937 cells with L. major promastigotes and exhibited a strong intracellular killing of the parasite. These data show that intracellular Leishmania amastigotes are more susceptible than promastigotes to licochalcone A. Results of studies on the site of action of licochalcone A indicate that the target organelle appears to be the parasite mitochondria. These findings demonstrate that licochalcone A in concentrations that are nontoxic to host cells exhibits a strong antileishmanial activity and that appropriate substituted chalcones might be a new class of antileishmanial drugs.