Two new isoflavones, fremontin and fremontone, were isolated from roots of Psorothamnus fremontii (Fabaceae), a desert plant. Compound 1 has the structure 5'-(alpha, alpha-dimethylallyl)-5,7,2',4'-tetrahydroxyisoflavone; compound 2 is similar but also contains the 3'-(gamma,gamma-dimethylallyl) substituent. The alpha,alpha-dimethylallyl substituent is rarely observed, and the combination of the alpha,alpha- and gamma,gamma-dimethylallyl substituents is unprecedented. Both 1 and 2 were nontoxic toward Salmonella typhimurium and were both highly active in the inhibition of mutagenicity of ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS) at all concentrations tested. Compound 2 was more active than 1 in the inhibition of mutagenicity of 2-aminoanthracene (2AN) and acetylaminofluorene (AAF) toward S. typhimurium
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