Coumestan Inhibits Radical-Induced Oxidation of DNA: Is Hydroxyl a Necessary Functional Group?

Coumestan is a natural tetracycle with a C═C bond shared by a coumarin moiety and a benzofuran moiety. In addition to the function of the hydroxyl group on the antioxidant activity of coumestan, it is worth exploring the influence of the oxygen-abundant scaffold on the antioxidant activity as well. In this work, seven coumestans containing electron-withdrawing and electron-donating groups were synthesized to evaluate the abilities to trap...