Pinostrobin is a flavonoid with diverse biological activities, including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer properties. It induces quinone reductase (QR) in murine hepatoma cells with a QR doubling concentration of 500 nM. Pinostrobin inhibits TNF-α and IL-1β production in RAW 264.7 macrophages (IC50s = 17.28 and 23.5 μM, respectively) and in LPS-stimulated rats (48.6 and 55% reduction, respectively). Pinostrobin also shows selective cytotoxicity for CCRF-CEM leukemia cells (IC50 = 10.2 μM) in a panel of eight cancer cell lines (IC50s = >30 μM).
