Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the concentration-dependent sulfation of piceatannol, a dietary polyphenol present in grapes and wine and known for its promising anticancer and anti-inflammatory activity.
Methods: Sulfation of piceatannol was investigated in human liver cytosol as well as using a panel of recombinant sulfotransferase isoforms. Furthermore, the chemical structures of novel sulfates were identified by liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS).
Key findings: In the presence of 3'-phosphoadenosine-5'-phosphosulfate, three metabolites could be detected whose structures were identified by LC/MS/MS as piceatannol disulfate (M1) and two monosulfates (M2, M3). The kinetics of M1 formation exhibited a pattern of substrate inhibition with a Ki of 21.8 +/- 11.3 microm and a Vmax/Km of 7.63 +/- 1.80 microl/mg protein per min. Formation of M2 and M3 showed sigmoidal kinetics with apparent Km and Vmax values of 27.1 +/- 2.90 microm and 118.4 +/- 4.38 pmol/mg protein per min, respectively, for M2; and 35.7 +/- 2.70 microm and 81.8 +/- 2.77 pmol/mg protein per min, respectively, for M3. Incubation in the presence of human recombinant sulfotransferases (SULTs) demonstrated that M1 was formed equally by SULT1A1*1 and SULT1B1 and to a lesser extent by SULT1A1*2. M2 was preferentially catalysed by SULT1A1*2, 1A3 and 1E1. The formation of M3, however, was mainly catalysed by SULT1A2*1 and SULT1A3.
Conclusions: Our results elucidate the importance of piceatannol sulfation in human liver, which must be taken into account in humans after dietary intake of piceatannol.