Pyronin Y is an intercalating dye with a specificity towards RNA. It has been shown to accumulate in the mitochondria of viable cells. Pyronin Y has been used to measure RNA in flow cytometry. Pyronin Y possesses some anti-cancer properties: it causes cell cycle arrest and increases lifespan in a mouse model of sarcoma.

Purpurogallin (2,3,4,5 tetrahydroxybenzo[7]annulen 6 one) is a benzotropolone containing the natural product, which occurs in the nut gall of Quercus spp. Purpurogallin is synthesized by the chemical oxidation of pyrogallol and has been shown to have biological properties, such as hydroxyl radical scavenging properties and to protect erythrocytes against lysis induced by peroxyl radicals. Purpurogallin can inhibit 2-hydroxy and 4-hydroxyestradiol methylation by catechol-O-methyltransferase, human immunodeficiency virus 1, integrase and prolyl endopeptidases. In addition, purpurogallin has also been known to have anticancer activities through the inhibition of the DNA synthesis of tumor cells (20), tyrosine-specific protein kinases and the interaction between Bcl xL and BH3 peptides. A number of studies have reported the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects of purpurogallin (15,23 27); however, the actual molecular mechanisms involving signal transduction cascades underlying the purpurogallin induced anti-inflammatory effects have not yet been elucidated.