COMPOSITION OF BIOLOGICALLY ACTIVE SUBSTANCES AND ANTIRADICAL ACTIVITY OF EXTRACTS FROM FIVE SPECIES OF PLANTS OF THE ASPARAGACEAE FAMILY

Many members of the Asparagaceae family are used in traditional medicine in different countries and characterized by a high content of biologically active metabolites. In this work, the qualitative composition and quantitative content of the components of methanol extracts from leaves and underground organs of Sansevieria cylindrica Bojer ex Hook, Sansevieria trifasciata Prain, Polianthes tuberosa L., leaves of Yucca filamentosa L. and Furcraea gigantea var. watsoniana (Hort. Sander) Drumm. were determined. Extraction of plant leaves and underground organs using 80% methanol resulted in 5.2–16.7% and 16–25.1% of the total extractive substances consequently. The presence of steroidal saponins in the extracts was shown by thin layer chromatography. Spirostanol saponins were predominate in the extracts from leaves of Y. filamentosa, F. gigantea and underground organs of S. cylindrica, S. trifasciata, P. tuberosa, furastanol saponins – in the extracts from leaves of S. cylindrica and S. trifasciata. The content of terpenoid and phenolic compounds in the extracts established using spectrophotometry significantly differs depending on the plant species and their anatomical part. All the extracts tested exhibited inhibition of the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl free radical in dose-dependent manner. The highest antiradical activity demonstrated the extract from the leaves of Y. filamentosa (IC50 = 25.95 μg/ml) containing the largest amount of phenolic compounds, including flavonoids – 51.3 and 15.5% of the total extractive substances.

Spirostanol Saponins from Flowers of Allium Porrum and Related Compounds Indicating Cytotoxic Activity and Affecting Nitric Oxide Production Inhibitory Effect in Peritoneal Macrophages

Saponins, a diverse group of natural compounds, offer an interesting pool of derivatives with biomedical application. In this study, three structurally related spirostanol saponins were isolated and identified from the leek flowers of Allium porrum L. (garden leek). Two of them were identical with the already known leek plant constituents: aginoside (1) and 6-deoxyaginoside (2). The third one was identified as new component of A. porrum; however, it was found identical with yayoisaponin A (3) obtained earlier from a mutant of elephant garlic Allium ampeloprasun L. It is a derivative of the aginoside (1) with additional glucose in its glycosidic chain, identified by MS and NMR analysis as (2α, 3β, 6β, 25R)-2,6-dihydroxyspirostan-3-yl β-D-glucopyranosyl-(1 → 3)-β-D-glucopranosyl-(1 → 2)-[β-D-xylopyranosyl-(1 → 3)]-β-D-glucopyranosyl]-(1 → 4)-β-D-galactopyranoside, previously reported also under the name alliporin. The leek native saponins were tested together with other known and structurally related saponins (tomatonin and digitonin) and with their related aglycones (agigenin and diosgenin) for in vitro cytotoxicity and for effects on NO production in mouse peritoneal cells. The highest inhibitory effects were exhibited by 6-deoxyaginoside. The obtained toxicity data, however, closely correlated with the suppression of NO production. Therefore, an unambiguous linking of obtained bioactivities of saponins with their expected immunobiological properties remained uncertain.

Identification and Structural Analysis of Spirostanol Saponin from Yucca schidigera by Integrating Silica Gel Column Chromatography and Liquid Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry Analysis

Yucca schidigera Roezl (Mojave), a kind of ornamental plant belonging to the Yucca genus (Agavaceae), whose extract exhibits important roles in food, beverage, cosmetic and feed additives owing to its rich spirostanol saponins. To provide a comprehensive chemical profiling of the spirostanol saponins in it, this study was performed by using a multi-phase liquid chromatography method combining a reversed phase chromatography T3 column with a normal phase chromatography silica column for the separation and an ESI-Q-Exactive-Orbitrap MS in positive ion mode as the detector. By comparing the retention time and ion fragments with standards, thirty-one spirostanol saponins were identified. In addition, according to the summary of the chromatographic retention behaviors and the MS/MS cleavage patterns and biosynthetic pathway, another seventy-nine spirostanol saponins were speculatively identified, forty ones of which were potentially new ones. Moreover, ten novel spirostanol saponins (three pairs of (25R/S)-spirostanol saponin isomer mixtures) were targeted for isolation to verify the speculation. Then, the comprehensive chemical profiling of spirostanol saponins from Y. schidigera was reported here firstly.

A Simple and Economic Limewater-based Conversion of Spirostanol Saponins: Using Paridis Rhizoma as a case study

Background Green and economic conversion of spirostanol saponins in the plant is considered as an attracting area in pharmaceutical applications. We aimed to provide a practical paradigm named limewater-based conversion of spirostanol saponins (LCSS), meanwhile, a widely-used traditional Chinese herbal medicine, Paridis Rhizoma (PR), was selected as a case study. Methods Based on single factor experiments, response surface methodology (RSM) using a Box-Behnken design (BBD) was employed to optimize processing time, limewater concentration and solvent volume to obtain a maximum total saponins yield from PR. H1299, A549 and HeLa cell lines was carried out to check pharmacological effect of Crude Paridis Rhizoma (CPR) and Processed Paridis Rhizoma (PPR), and the technology was reconfirmed by another herbal medicine, Anemarrhenae Rhizoma (AR). Results The optimal conditions were: processing time of 24 h, limewater concentration of 0.12% limewater and solvent volume of 60 mL/30 g. Under these conditions, the contents of polyphyllin VII, polyphyllin II, dioscin, gracillin, and polyphyllin I had 1.131 ± 0.448, 1.835 ± 0.479, 1.430 ± 0.550, 1.761 ± 0.571 and 1.668 ± 0.360 times increasing in four batches of PR, which was responsible for the increasing of total spirostanol saponins (TSS) in PPR. In addition, the extracts of PPR exhibited stronger antitumor potential than that of CPR on H1299, A549 and HeLa cell lines based on MTT test and cell scratch test. The efficiency of proposed LCSS was then reconfirmed by Anemarrhenae Rhizome (AR), indicating its capacity in broader application. Conclusion This study depicted a LCSS strategy that may have great potential in achieving effective and economic improvement of spirostanol saponin accumulation in herbal medicines.

Saponins from Solanum torvum and S. macaonense with Their Cytotoxic and Anti-allergic Effects

Spirostanol saponins, 1–6 and 18–19 (normal-type F ring), isolated from Solanum torvum and S. macaonense showed anti-metastatic and anti-inflammatory effects, especially 2 and 18 could be chosen as the promising candidates against inflammation-associated tumors.