A β-secretase (BACE1)-inhibiting C-methylrotenoid induced by yeast elicitation in Abronia nana suspension cultures.

Suspension cultures of Abronia nana were established to produce C-methylisoflavones. Treatment of the A. nana cultures with yeast elicitor induced boeravinone E (1), with maximum induction at 24 h after elicitor treatment. Of the biotic and abiotic elicitors tested, yeast extract gave the strongest induction of 1. The IC50 value of 1 against β-secretase (β-amyloid cleaving enzyme-1) was 5.57 μM. Other proteases such as trypsin, chymotrypsin, and elastase were not inhibited by concentrations up to 1.0 mM, indicating that inhibition of β-secretase was specific. 1 was noncompetitive in Dixon plot, and Ki value was 3.79 μM.