Giffonins A-I, antioxidant cyclized diarylheptanoids from the leaves of the hazelnut tree (Corylus avellana), source of the Italian PGI product "Nocciola di Giffoni".

Eight new diaryl ether heptanoids, giffonins A-H (1-8), and one diaryl heptanoid, giffonin I (9), were isolated from the methanol extract of the leaves of Corylus avellana. Its hazelnut is the PGI product of the Campania region (Italy) known as "Nocciola di Giffoni". The MeOH extract of C. avellana leaves and giffonins A-I (1-9) were evaluated for their inhibitory effects on human plasma lipid peroxidation induced by H2O2 and H2O2/Fe(2+), by measuring the concentration of TBARS (thiobarbituric acid reactive substances). Compounds 4 and 8 at 10 μM reduced both H2O2- and H2O2/Fe(2+)-induced lipid peroxidation by more than 60% and 50%, respectively, indicating higher activity than curcumin used as reference compound.