Regiospecificity of human UDP-glucuronosyltransferase isoforms in chalcone and flavanone glucuronidation determined by metal complexation and tandem mass spectrometry.

The glucuronidation of a series of chalcones (2'-hydroxychalcone, 2',4'-dihydroxychalcone, 3,2'-dihydroxychalcone, 4,2'-dihydroxychalcone, and cardamonin) and their corresponding cyclized flavanones (7-hydroxyflavanone, 3'-hydroxyflavanone, 4'-hydroxyflavanone, and alpinetin) by eight human UDP-glucuronosyltransferase (UGT) 1A enzymes was evaluated. A postcolumn metal complexation LC-MS/MS strategy was used successfully to produce characteristic mass spectrometric product ions that were utilized in combination with elution order trends to identify chalcone and flavanone monoglucuronides unambiguously, thus allowing determination of the regioselectivities of the UGT1A isoforms. The presence of hydroxy groups on the A- or B-ring had a significant effect on the glucuronide product yield and the site where glucuronidation occurred. For example, for reaction with UGT1A9, formation of the 2'-O-glucuronide was increased for dihydroxychalcones with A-ring hydroxy substituents. In contrast, although UGT1A8 reacted with 3,2'-dihydroxychalcone and 4,2'-dihydroxychalcone to yield 2'-O-glucuronide products, the presence of a B-ring hydroxy group at the 4' position on cardamonin and 2',4'-dihydroxychalcone quenched the reaction at the OH-2' position. Moreover, the A-ring OH-4 group promoted glucuronidation at the 2' position for the reaction of 4,2'-dihydroxychalcone with UGT1A1 and 1A3. For UGT1A7, hydroxy group substituents on the chalcone A-ring also promoted cyclization and formation of the corresponding flavanone glucuronide.