Inhibition of Aldose Reductase by Phenylethanoid Glycoside Isolated from the Seeds of Paulownia coreana

Aldose reductase (AR) inhibitors have considerable therapeutic potential against diabetic complications and do not increase the risk of hypoglycemia. Through bioassay-guided fractionation of the 70% acetone extract obtained from Paulownia coreana seeds, phenylpropanoid glycosides (compounds 1—4) and 5 phenolic coumpounds were isolated (compounds 5—9). Their structures were determined on the basis of spectroscopic analysis and comparison with reported data. All the isolates were subjected to in vitro bioassays to evaluate their inhibitory activities against recombinant human aldose reductase (rhAR) and sorbitol formation in human erythrocytes. Phenylethanoid glycosides showed more effective than the phenolic compounds in inhibiting rhAR. Among the compounds, isocampneoside II (3) was found to significantly inhibit rhAR with an IC50 value of 9.72 μM. In kinetic analyses performed using Lineweaver–Burk plots of 1/velocity and 1/concentration of substrate, isocampneoside II (3) showed uncompetitive inhibition against rhAR. Furthermore, it inhibited sorbitol formation in a rat lens incubated with a high concentration of glucose; this finding indicated that isocampneoside II (3) may effectively prevent osmotic stress in hyperglycemia. Thus, the P. coreana-derived phenylethanoid glycoside isocampneoside II (3) may have a potential therapeutics against diabetic complications.