Flavonoids are strong antioxidants that prevent DNA damage. The anticancer and antiviral activities of these natural products are implicated in their mechanism of actions. However, there has been no information on the interactions of these antioxidants with individual DNA at molecular level. This study was designed to examine the interaction of quercetin (que), kaempferol (kae), and delphinidin (del) with calf-thymus DNA in aqueous solution at physiological conditions, using constant DNA concentration (6.5 mmol) and various drug/DNA(phosphate) ratios of 1/65 to 1. FTIR and UV-Visible difference spectroscopic methods are used to determine the drug binding sites, the binding constants and the effects of drug complexation on the stability and conformation of DNA duplex.

Structural analysis showed quercetin, kaempferol, and delphinidin bind weakly to adenine, guanine (major groove), and thymine (minor groove) bases, as well as to the backbone phosphate group with overall binding constants K_que = 7.25 × 10⁴M^-1, K_kae = 3.60 × 10⁴M^-1, and K_del = 1.66 × 10⁴M^-1. The stability of adduct formation is in the order of que>kae>del. Delphinidin with a positive charge induces more stabilizing effect on DNA duplex than quercetin and kaempferol. A partial B to A-DNA transition occurs at high drug concentrations.

Key words: DNA, Antioxidant, Flavonoids, Binding sites, Binding constant, Conformation, FTIR, UV-Visible spectroscopy.