Structure-Activity Relationship for (+)-Taxifolin Isolated from Silymarin as an Inhibitor of Amyloid β Aggregation

Silymarin, the seed extract of Silybium marianum, has preventive effects against Alzheimer's disease-like pathogenesis in vivo. We isolated (+)-taxifolin (4) from silymarin as an inhibitor of aggregation of the 42-residue amyloid beta-protein. Structure-activity relationship studies revealed the 3',4'-dihydroxyl groups to be critical to the anti-aggregative ability, whereas the 7-hydroxyl group and the stereochemistry at positions 2 and 3 were not important.