Characterization, Antioxidant and Cytotoxic Evaluation of Demethoxycurcumin and Bisdemethoxycurcumin from Curcuma longa Cultivated in Costa Rica

The biological activities of curcuminoids, the main polyphenol constituents of Curcuma longa (turmeric), have been the subject of many studies in recent years. However, these studies have focused on the major active compound, curcumin (CUR), while other important constituents, demethoxycurcumin (DMC) and bisdemethoxycurcumin (BDM) have been less studied and reported in the literature regarding their bioactivity as well as their isolation and solid-state characterization. Hence, in this study, DMC and BDM were isolated using pressurized liquid extraction (PLE) followed by column chromatography and crystallization. HRMS and H-1 and C-13 NMR were used to characterize them. Solid-state characterization was performed through powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) techniques. Further, powder dissolution profiles were performed in two media, antioxidant and cytotoxic activities were determined through 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhidrazyl (DPPH) and an MTT assay on gastric adenocarcinoma (AGS), colorectal adenocarcinoma (SW-620), and hepatocellular carcinoma (HepG2) cell lines. DMC and BDM were extracted from Curcuma longa cultivated in Costa Rica, using pressurized liquid extraction (PLE), then isolated and purified, combining column chromatography and crystallization techniques. The highly pure solids obtained were shown to be crystalline with an amorphous component. Although the PXRD pattern of BDM suggested a high amorphous component, the crystal exhibited a well-defined and faceted shape. Meanwhile, DMC crystallized in a botryoidal habit, and this constitutes the first report for this compound. On the other hand, BDM was slightly more soluble than DMC, which in turn showed an antioxidant IC50 value 28% higher than BDM (12.46 and 17.94 mu g/mL, respectively). In respect to the cytotoxic effects, DMC showed a better IC50 value than BDM for both the SW-620 and AGS cell lines, while BDM exhibited a better IC50 value than DMC against the HepG2 cell line (64.7 mu M). In terms of selectivity, BDM and DMC had the highest SI value for SW-620 cells compared to non-tumoral cells, while both compounds also displayed the best cytotoxic effect against these colon adenocarcinoma SW-620 cells, indicating BDM and DMC as potential chemotherapeutic drugs.