Methyl hesperidin is a flavonoid compound synthesized by methylation of hesperidin. It can increase coronary flow in isolated rabbit hearts, increase cardiac output in dogs, reduce myocardial oxygen consumption, relax isolated rabbit aortic strips, reduce vascular resistance in dog lower limbs, significantly reduce blood pressure and coronary, renal and cerebral vascular resistance, and increase coronary and renal blood flow. Methyl hesperidin combined with VitC can prevent and treat hypertension and cerebral hemorrhage. In recent years, orange vitamin C granules have been developed. As early as the 1960s, it became the main raw material of “Maitong” and was combined with other drugs to become a vascular strengthening drug, which is widely used in clinical practice. At present, methyl hesperidin is derived from the methylation of hesperidin (hesperidin R). The traditional process is to dissolve hesperidin in sodium hydroxide solution by liquid alkali method (sodium hydroxide method), and then add methylating agent-dimethyl sulfate for methylation reaction to obtain methyl hesperidin. The yield of this method is only 70.0%.
Methyl hesperidin is a mixture of various similar substances obtained by the methylation reaction of hesperidin, but 3-methyl hesperidin is the main component. It is easily soluble in water and belongs to the vitamin P class of drugs. It has antiviral and antibacterial effects, and can also enhance the effect of vitamin C. It can inhibit the action of tyrosinase and is used to treat skin diseases such as dark spots and freckles, and has the effect of whitening the skin. It can enhance capillary resistance, maintain normal blood vessel permeability, make capillaries elastic and tough, prevent and treat capillary bleeding, gingival bleeding, etc. In addition, methyl hesperidin can be used for the prevention and treatment of nosebleeds, retinal bleeding, gastrointestinal bleeding, and bleeding before or after surgery. It is the raw material for “Maitong”, “Xinmaining” and “Chengwei C” preparations, and is also used in whitening and spot removal products and food additives.