Calycosin is an ''O''-methylated isoflavone. It can be isolated from ''

Astragalus membranaceus ''Astragalus mongholicus'', synonyms including ''Astragalus propinquus'' and ''Astragalus membranaceus'', commonly known as Mongolian milkvetch in English; 'Хунчир' in Mongolian; ''huángqí'' (), ''běiqí'' () or ''huánghuā huángqí'' ...

'' Bge. var. ''mongholicus'' and ''

Trifolium pratense ''Trifolium pratense'' (from Latin prātum, meaning meadow), red clover, is a herbaceous species of flowering plant in the bean family, Fabaceae. It is native to the Old World, but planted and naturalised in many other regions. Description ...

'' L. (red clover).

Biosynthesis

Isoflavone 3′-hydroxylase uses formononetin, NADPH, H⁺ and O₂ to produce calycosin, NADP⁺ and H₂O.

Pharmacology

Calycosin has been shown to possess anti-cancer properties ''in vitro'', and extracts of ''

'' have been used to complement

chemotherapy Chemotherapy (often abbreviated chemo, sometimes CTX and CTx) is the type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs (list of chemotherapeutic agents, chemotherapeutic agents or alkylating agents) in a standard chemotherapy re ...

regimes in treatment of cancer in China.Lu Q, Jiang J, Wang X, Wang R, Han X. Advancements in the Research of Astragalus membranaceus for the Treatment of Colorectal Cancer. ''Am J Chin Med''. 2025;53(1):119-146.

References

O-methylated isoflavones {{phenol-stub