Oleanane saponins from Sanicula elata var. chinensis

Apiaceae Medicinal Plants in China: A Review of Traditional Uses, Phytochemistry, Bolting and Flowering (BF), and BF Control Methods

Apiaceae plants have been widely used in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) for the removing dampness, relieving superficies, and dispelling cold, etc. In order to exploit potential applications as well as improve the yield and quality of Apiaceae medicinal plants (AMPs), the traditional use, modern pharmacological use, phytochemistry, effect of bolting and flowering (BF), and approaches for controlling BF were summarized. Currently, about 228 AMPs have been recorded as TCMs, with 6 medicinal parts, 79 traditional uses, 62 modern pharmacological uses, and 5 main kinds of metabolites. Three different degrees (i.e., significantly affected, affected to some extent, and not significantly affected) could be classed based on the yield and quality. Although the BF of some plants (e.g., Angelica sinensis) could be effectively controlled by standard cultivation techniques, the mechanism of BF has not yet been systemically revealed. This review will provide useful references for the reasonable exploration and high-quality production of AMPs.

Hyaluronidase and degranulation inhibitors from the edible roots of Oenanthe javanica including seric acids F and G that were obtained by heating

Oenanthe javanica is a vegetable grown in East Asia and Australia in which the roots and aerial parts are boiled together to make certain traditional dishes. Nineteen compounds (1-19) were isolated from O. javanica roots and the chemical structures of 2 new norlignans were determined. The inhibitory effects of the compounds on hyaluronidase and degranulation in RBL-2H3 cells were evaluated to determine antiallergic and antiinflammation activities. Saponins (2-4) and the new norlignan seric acid G (12) were among the active compounds identified. Seric acid G (12), a methoxy derivative of seric acid F (11), was obtained as an interconverting mixture of 3:1 trans-cis isomers. Seric acids F and G (11, 12) were derived from seric acids C (10) and E, respectively, by decarboxylation and dehydration reactions that occurred during heating. It was confirmed by HPLC analysis that all eleven of the O. javanica cultivars contained seric acid C (10).

Bioactive Triterpenoid Saponins From the Seeds of Aesculus chinensis Bge. var. chekiangensis

Phytochemical investigation of Aesculus chinensis Bge. var. chekiangensis (Hu et Fang) Fang obtained 33 triterpenoid saponins, including 14 new ones, aesculiside C–P (1–14). The structure elucidations were performed through comprehensive MS, 1D and 2D-NMR analysis, and their absolute configuration was unambiguously determined by X-ray diffraction analysis as well as Mo₂(OAc)₄-induced ECD method for the first time. All the substances were examined for their cytotoxic activities against three tumor cell lines, Hep G2, HCT-116, and MGC-803. Of these, compounds 8, 9, 14–16, 18, and 22 exhibited potent cytotoxicities against all cell lines with IC₅₀ of 2–21 μM, while compounds 3, 6, 7, 17–19, 20, 24, and 28 depicted moderate activity (IC₅₀ 13 to >40 μM). On these bases, the preliminary structure-activity correlations were also discussed. Meanwhile the neuroprotective properties of triterpenoid saponins from Aesculus genus were evaluated for the first time. Among them, compounds 1, 4, 12, 20, 22, 25, 29, and 31 exhibited moderate activities against C_OCl₂-induced PC12 cell injury.

Cytotoxic triterpenoid saponins from Aesculus glabra Willd

Twenty-four acylated polyhydroxyoleanene saponins were isolated from the seeds of Aesculus glabra. Sixteen of them, namely aesculiosides G1-G16 (1-16), were determined as compounds by spectroscopic and chemical analysis. The structural features of all 24 saponins are: (1) arabinofuranosyl units affixed to C-3 of the glucuronopyranosyl unit in the trisaccharide chain; (2) no 24-OH substitution; (3) C-2 sugar moiety substitution of the 3-O-glucuronopyranosyl unit is either glucopyranosyl or galactopyranosyl. The features of these isolated saponin structures provide more evidence for chemical taxonomy within the genus Aesculus. The cytotoxicity of the aesculiosides (1-16) were tested against A549 and PC-3 cancer cell lines with GI₅₀ from 5.4 to >25 μM.

Sesquiterpene and norsesquiterpene derivatives from Sanicula lamelligera and their biological evaluation

Fourteen sesquiterpene and norsesquiterpene derivatives, comprising six different carbon skeletons, were isolated from Sanicula lamelligera. Saniculamoid A1 (1a) is an oxidation product of saniculamoid A (1), created by the transition of a formyl group to a carboxylic acid group after a period of storage in air. The known compounds 5-14 were identified in Sanicula plants for the first time. The compounds were evaluated for their anti-HIV-1, cytostatic, and nitric-oxide-production-inhibiting activities using in vitro cellular assays. The results showed that 1,5-naphthalenediol inhibited nitric oxide production in lipopolysaccharide-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells with an IC₅₀ value of 28.1 μM and was active toward five cancer cell lines with IC₅₀ values in the 31.1-41.6 μM range.

Phenolic compounds and rare polyhydroxylated triterpenoid saponins from Eryngium yuccifolium

Phytochemical investigation on the whole plant of Eryngium yuccifolium resulted in the isolation and identification of three phenolic compounds (1-3) and 12 polyhydroxylated triterpenoid saponins, named eryngiosides A-L (4-15), together with four known compounds kaempferol-3-O-(2,6-di-O-trans-p-coumaroyl)-beta-D-glucopyranoside (16), caffeic acid (17), 21beta-angeloyloxy-3beta-[beta-D-glucopyranosyl-(1-->2)]-[beta-d-xylopyranosyl-(1-->3)]-beta-D-glucuronopyranosyloxyolean-12-ene-15alpha,16alpha,22alpha,28-tetrol (18), and saniculasaponin III (19). This study reports the isolation of these compounds and their structural elucidation by extensive spectroscopic analyses and chemical degradation.

Triterpenoids

This review covers the isolation and structure determination of triterpenoids including squalene derivatives, lanostanes, cycloartanes, dammaranes, euphanes, tirucallanes, tetranortriterpenoids, quassinoids, lupanes, oleananes, friedelanes, uranes, hopanes, isomalabaricanes and saponins. The literature from January to December 2004 is reviewed and 243 references are cited.

Chromatographic determination of plant saponins—An update (2002–2005)

The developments during 2002-2005 in the methods used for saponin analyses in plant material are presented. There were number of papers published on isolation and identification of new saponins by chromatographic techniques. Some new developments can be found in separation techniques or solid and mobiles phases used. Separation of individual saponins is still complicated and time consuming. This is due to the fact that in most of the plant species saponins occur as a multi-component mixture of compounds of very similar polarities. Thus, to isolate single compound for structure elucidation or biological activity testing, a combination of different chromatographic techniques has to be used, e.g. first separation of the mixture to simpler sub-fractions on reversed phase C18 has to be followed by further purification on normal phase Silica gel column. Especially difficult is determination of saponins in plant material as these compounds do not possess chromophores and their profiles cannot be registered in UV. Most HPLC methods apply not only specific registration at 200-210 nm, but these methods are not applicable for determination of many saponins in plant material at levels lower than 200-300 mg/kg. Some new or improved techniques for quantification of saponins in plant material were published in reviewed period. These include further progress in the application of evaporative light scattering detection (ELSD) for saponin profiling and quantification, which is also not only specific but also more sensitive in comparison to 200-210 nm detection. Some progress in development of new applications for liquid chromatography-electrospray mass spectrometry (LC/ESI/MS) for saponin determination has also been done. This method gives highest sensitivity and on line identification of separated saponins and should be recommended for specialized analyses of extracts and pharmaceutical formulas like the validation of a new assay. From non-chromatographic techniques for saponin determination, a sensitive and compound specific ELISA tests for some saponins were developed.