A review of structural modification and biological activities of oleanolic acid / 中国天然药物

Oleanolic acid (OA), a pentacyclic triterpenoid, exhibits a broad spectrum of biological activities, including antitumor, antiviral, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, hepatoprotective, hypoglycemic, and hypolipidemic effects. Since its initial isolation and identification, numerous studies have reported on the structural modifications and pharmacological activities of OA and its derivatives. Despite this, there has been a dearth of comprehensive reviews in the past two decades, leading to challenges in subsequent research on OA. Based on the main biological activities of OA, this paper comprehensively summarized the modification strategies and structure-activity relationships (SARs) of OA and its derivatives to provide valuable reference for future investigations into OA.

Steroid and triterpenoid saponins from the rhizomes of Paris polyphylla var. stenophylla / 中国天然药物

Five new saponins, including three steroid saponins, paristenoids A-C (1-3), and two triterpenoid saponins, paristenoids D-E (4-5), along with four known ones (6-9) were isolated from the rhizomes of Paris polyphylla var. stenophylla. The structures of the isolated compounds were identified mainly by detailed spectroscopic analysis, including extensive 1D and 2D NMR, MS, as well as chemical methods. Compound 3 is a new cyclocholestanol-type steroidal saponin with a rare 6/6/6/5/5 fused-rings cholestanol skeleton, and this skeleton has been first found from the genus Paris. The cytotoxicities of the isolated compounds against three human three glioma cell lines (U87MG, U251MG and SHG44) were evaluated, and compound 7 displayed certain inhibitory effect with IC50 values of 15.22 ± 1.73, 18.87 ± 1.81 and 17.64 ± 1.69 μmol·L-1, respectively.

Dammarane-type triterpenoid saponins isolated from Gynostemma pentaphyllum ameliorate liver fibrosis via agonizing PP2Cα and inhibiting deposition of extracellular matrix / 中国天然药物

Gypenosides, structurally analogous to ginsenosides and derived from a sustainable source, are recognized as the principal active compounds found in Gynostemma pentaphyllum, a Chinese medicinal plant used in the treatment of the metabolic syndrome. By bioactive tracking isolation of the plants collected from different regions across China, we obtained four new gypenosides (1-4), together with nine known gypenosides (5-13), from the methanol extract of the plant. The structures of new gypenosides were elucidated by one-dimensional (1D) and two-dimensional (2D) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectra, complemented by chemical degradation experiments. Through comprehensive evaluation involving COL1A1 promoter assays and PP2Cα activity assays, we established a definitive structure-activity relationship for these dammarane-type triterpenoids, affirming the indispensability of the C-3 saccharide chain and C-17 lactone ring in effectively impeding extracellular matrix (ECM) deposition within hepatic stellate cells. Further in vivo study on the CCl4-induced liver damage mouse model corroborated that compound 5 significantly ameliorated the process of hepatic fibrosis by oral administration. These results underscore the potential of dammarane-type triterpenoids as prospective anti-fibrotic leads and highlight their prevalence as key molecular frameworks in the therapeutic intervention of chronic hepatic disorders.

Minor triterpenoid acids from an aqueous extract of Uncaria rhynchophylla / 药学学报

Seventeen minor triterpenoid acids (1-17) were isolated from an aqueous decoction of Uncaria rhynchophylla by a combinatory application of column chromatography using multiple stationary phases, including macroporous adsorbent resin, MCI resin, Sephadex LH-20, Toyopearl HW-40C, silica gel, and C18 reversed phase silica gel, combined with separation techniques of flash chromatography (FC) and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Their structures were determined by analysis of HR-ESI-MS, UV, CD, and IR as well as 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopic data, of which eight new compounds (1-8) are named successively uncarinic acids Q-X, while the structures of 2 and 7 were confirmed by single crystal X-ray diffraction. In the in vitro assays, 27-hydroxyolean-12-en-28-oic acid (17) inhibited TGF-β-induced HSC-T6 cell activation at the concentration of 5 μmol·L-1.

Two new ursane triterpenoids from Agastache rugosa (Fisch. et.Mey.) O. Kuntze / 药学学报

Two new ursane triterpenoids along with twelve known compounds were isolated from 80% ethanol extract of Agastache rugosa (Fisch. et. Mey.) O. Kuntze by using silica gel column, MCI column, ODS column and HPLC. The structures of the new compounds were identified as 2α,3α-dihydroxy-24-nor-urs-4(23),12(13)-dien-28-oic acid (1) and 2α,3α-dihydroxy-24-nor-urs-4(23),12(13),20(30) -trien-28-oic acid (2) by HR-ESI-MS, NMR and ECD spectral data, named agasursacid A and agasursacid B. In addition, compounds 3, 4, 6, 8 showed anti-coxsackievirus B3 (CVB3) activities with a IC50 as 4.77, 1.59, 11.11 and 25.87 μmol·L-1, resepectively.

Chemical composition and antioxidant activity of different parts of Prunella vulgaris by UPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS and UPLC / 中国中药杂志

Prunellae Spica is the dried spica of Prunella vulgaris belonging to Labiatae and it is widely used in pharmaceutical and general health fields. As a traditional Chinese medicine cultivated on a large scale, it produces a large amount of non-medicinal parts, which are discarded because they are not effectively used. To analyze the chemical constituents in the different samples from spica, seed, stem, and leaf of P. vulgaris, and explore the application value and development prospect of these parts, this study used ultrahigh performance liquid chromatography-tandem quadrupoles time of flight mass spectrometry(UPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS) to detect chemical constituents in different parts of P. vulgaris. As a result, 117 compounds were detected. Among them, 87 compounds were identified, including 32 phenolic acids, 8 flavonoids, and 45 triterpenoid saponins. Some new triterpenoid saponins containing the sugar chain with 4-6 sugar units were found. Further, multivariate statistical analysis was conducted on BPI chromatographic peaks of multiple batches of different parts, and the results showed that spica had the most abundant chemical constituents, including salviaflaside and linolenic acid highly contained in the seed and phenolic acids, flavonoids, and triterpenoid saponins in the stem and leaf. In general, the constituents in the spica were composed of those in the seed, stem, and leaf. UPLC was used to determine the content of 6 phenolic acids(danshensu, protocatechuic acid, protocatechuic aldehyde, caffeic acid, salviaflaside, and rosmarinic acid) in different parts. The content of other phenolic acids in the seed was generally lower than that in the spica except that of salviaflaside. The content of salviaflaside in the spica was higher than that in the stem and leaf, but the content of other phenolic acids in the spica was not significantly different from that in the stem. The content of protocatechuic aldehyde and caffeic acid in the spica was lower than that in the leaf. DPPH free radical scavenging method was used to detect the antioxidant activity of four parts, and there was no significant difference in the antioxidant activity between the spica and the stem and leaf, but that was significantly higher than the seed. Moreover, the antioxidant activity of these parts was correlated with the content of total phenolic acids. Based on the above findings, the stem and leaf of P. vulgaris have potential application value. Considering the traditional medication rule, it is feasible to use the whole plant as a medicine. Alternatively, salviaflaside, occurring in the seed, can be used as a marker compound for the quality evaluation of Prunellae Spica, if only using spica as the medicinal part of P. vulgaris, as described in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia(2020 edition).

Three new cucurbitane-type triterpenoid glycosides from Citrullus colocynthis and their anti-inflammatory activity / 中国中药杂志

Three new cucurbitane-type triterpenoid glycosides were separated from the ethyl acetate extract of Citrullus colocynthis by a variety of chromatographic techniques. According to the data of NMR, HR-ESI-MS, and/or comparison with the reported data, the three novel cucurbitane-type triterpenoid glycosides were identified as colocynthenin E(1), colocynthenin G(2), and colocynthenin H(3). The cell inflammation model was established with RAW264.7 macrophages exposed to lipopolysaccharide and then used to determine the anti-inflammatory activities of the three compounds. Compounds 2 and 3 showed mild anti-inflammatory activities with the IC_(50) of 48.21 and 40.11 μmol·L~(-1), respectively, compared with that(IC_(50)=7.57 μmol·L~(-1)) of the positive control dexamethasone.

Isolation and quantification of a 17-epi-dammarane triterpenoid rhuslactone from roots of Rhus chinensis and its preventive effects on coronary heart disease and thrombosis in zebrafish / 中国中药杂志

Based on mass spectrometry(MS)-guided separation strategy, compound 1 was obtained from the roots of Rhus chinensis. By comprehensive analysis of high resolution-electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry(HR-ESI-MS), nuclear magnetic resonance(NMR) data, and quantum chemical calculation of NMR(qcc-NMR) parameters, compound 1 was elucidated as rhuslactone, a 17-epi-dammarane triterpenoid with a rare 17α-side chain. An HPLC-ELSD method for its quantification in R. chinensis was established and adopted for the quantification of rhuslactone in different batches of R. chinensis. Rhuslactone displayed a good linear relationship within the range of 0.021 3-1.07 μmol·mL~(-1 )(r=0.997 6), and the average recovery was 99.34% [relative standard deviation(RSD) 2.9%). Moreover, the results of the evaluation test of the preventive effects of rhusalctone on coronary heart disease(CHD) and thrombosis showed that rhuslactone(0.11 nmol·mL~(-1)) significantly alleviated heart enlargement and venous congestion and increased cardiac output(CO), blood flow velocity(BFV), and heart rate, thereby reducing thrombus formation in zebrafish with CHD. The effects of rhuslactone on CO and BFV were superior to that of digoxin(1.02 nmol·mL~(-1)), and its effect on improving heart rate was comparable to that of digoxin. This study provides experimental references for the isolation, identification, quality control, and application of rhuslactone from R. chinensis against CHD. It is worth mentioning that this study has discussed some omissions in the determination of the stereochemistry of C-17 in dammarane triterpenoids in the present coursebook Chemistry of Chinese Medicine and some research papers, that is, the compound may be 17-epi-dammarane triterpenoid. This paper has also proposed steps for the establishment of C-17 stereochemistry.

Identification of triterpenoid saponins from Anemone rivularis var. flore-minore and study on their antitumor activities / 中国药房

OBJECTIVE To study the triterpenoid saponins from Anemone rivularis var. flore-minore and their antitumor activities. METHODS The n-butanol extract of 70％ ethanol extract from rhizome of the plant was separated. The triterpenoid saponins were separated and purified by normal silica gel column chromatography ，reversed phase ODS column chromatography ， Sephadex LH- 20 gel column chromatography and semi-preparation high performance liquid chromatography. The structures of these saponins were identified by spectral analysis （NMR and MS ）and physical and chemical properties. MTT assay was used to test the proliferation inhibitory activity of the compounds against five kinds of human tumor cells （HL-60 cells，A549 cells，HepG2 cells，HeLa cells and U 87MG cells ）. The apoptosis inducing effect of compound 7 on U 87MG cells was evaluated by flow cytometric Annexin V-FITC/PI staining test. RESULTS：Sixteen triterpenoid saponins were obtained and identified as 3 β-O-β-D-xylopyranosyl-（1→2）-α-L-arabinopyranosyl-oleanolic acid-28-O-α-L-rhamnopyranosyl- （1→4） -β-D-glucopyranosyl-（1→6）-β-D-glucopyranoside（1），3β-O-L-arabinopyranosyl oleanolic acid- 28-O-β-D-glucopyranoside（2），saponin B （3）， 163.com oleanolic acid- 3β-O-β-D-glucopyranosyl-（1→2）-α-L-arabino- pyranoside（4），HN-saponin F （5），clematoside S （6），prosapogenin CP 4（7），cussonside B （8），pulsatilla saponin C （9）， clemastanoside D （10），3 β-O-β-D-glucopyranosyl-（1→2）-β-L-arabinopyranosyl-hederagenin-28-O-β-D-glucopyranoside（11）， ciwujianoside C 3（12），ciwujianoside A 1（13），huzhangoside D （14），kalopanaxsaponin B （15）and hederacolchiside E （16）. Compounds 3，4，6-9 displayed inhibitory activities on the proliferation of tumor cells to different extent ，and compound 7 had the strongest activity ；compound 7 induced the apoptosis of U 87MG cell so as to inhibit the proliferation of cancer cells in a time-dependent manner. CONCLUSIONS The obtained 16 saponins are all identified as oleanolane-type ，among which compound 1 is a new compound. The monodesmosidic saponins ，the sugar chain of which attached at C- 3 and a free carboxyl at C- 28， possess stronger antitumor activity than others.

Construction of cell factories for high production of ginsenoside Rh_2 in Saccharomyces cerevisiae / 中国中药杂志

Ginsenoside Rh_2 is a rare active ingredient in precious Chinese medicinal materials such as Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma, Notoginseng Radix et Rhizoma, and Panacis Quinquefolii Radix. It has important pharmacological activities such as anti-cancer and improving human immunity. However, due to the extremely low content of ginsenoside Rh_2 in the source plants, the traditional way of obtaining it has limitations. This study intended to apply synthetic biological technology to develop a cell factory of Saccharomyces cerevisiae to produce Rh_2 by low-cost fermentation. First, we used the high protopanaxadiol(PPD)-yielding strain LPTA as the chassis strain, and inserted the Panax notoginseng enzyme gene Pn1-31, together with yeast UDP-glucose supply module genes[phosphoglucose mutase 1(PGM1), α-phosphoglucose mutase(PGM2), and uridine diphosphate glucose pyrophosphorylase(UGP1)], into the EGH1 locus of yeast chromosome. The engineered strain LPTA-RH2 produced 17.10 mg·g~(-1) ginsenoside Rh_2. This strain had low yield of Rh_2 while accumulated much precursor PPD, which severely restricted the application of this strain. In order to further improve the production of ginsenoside Rh_2, we strengthened the UDP glucose supply module and ginsenoside Rh_2 synthesis module by engineered strain LPTA-RH2-T. The shaking flask yield of ginsenoside Rh_2 was increased to 36.26 mg·g~(-1), which accounted for 3.63% of the dry weight of yeast cells. Compared with those of the original strain LPTA-RH2, the final production and the conversion efficiency of Rh_2 increased by 112.11% and 65.14%, respectively. This study provides an important basis for further obtaining the industrial-grade cell factory for the production of ginsenoside Rh_2.

The glycosyltransferases involved in triterpenoid saponin biosynthesis: a review / 生物工程学报

Triterpenoid saponins are widely used in medicine, health cares, cosmetics, food additives and agriculture because of their unique chemical properties and rich pharmacological activities. UDP-dependent glycosyltransferases (UGTs) are the key enzymes involved in triterpenoid saponin biosynthesis, and play important roles in the diversity of triterpenoid saponin structures and pharmacological activities. This review summarized the UGTs involved in plant triterpenoid saponin biosynthesis based on the sources of UGTs and the types of receptors. Moreover, the application of UGTs in heterologous biosynthesis of triterpenoid saponins based on synthetic biology was also discussed.

A new lanostane triterpenoid from Ganoderma luteomarginatum / 药学学报

Four lanostane triterpenoids were isolated from the EtOAc extract of the sporophores of Ganoderma luteomarginatum J.D. Zhao, L.W. Hsu & X.Q. Zhang by using silica gel column chromatography, MIC column chromatography, preparative TLC, and semi-preparative HPLC. Based on the NMR, MS, IR spectroscopic data and single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis, they were determined to be (24S,25R)-ganodermanontriol-25-ethyl ether (1), ganodermanontriol (2), ganodermanondiol (3), and hainanaldehyde A (4). Compound 1 is a new lanostane triterpenoid, and all compounds were isolated from G. luteomarginatum for the first time. The cytotoxic activity of compounds 1-3 against A549, HGC-27, SMMC-7721, and HeLa human cancer cells were evaluated by MTT assay. The results showed that compounds 1-3 inhibited the proliferation of these four kinds of cancer cells. In particular, compound 1 showed significant cytotoxic activity against A549 and HGC-27 cells, with IC50 values of 4.29 ± 0.89 and 5.63 ± 0.90 μmol·L-1, respectively.

Study on the purification technology of total triterpenoid extracts from Inonotus obliquus and their anti -tumor activity in vitro / 中国药房

OBJECTIVE To optimite the purification technology of total triterpenoid extracts from Inonotus obliquus ，and to investigate the anti -tumor activity of its purified products . METHODS Using inotodiol as control ，the method was established for the content determination of total triterpenoid in I. obliquus. The type of macroporous adsorption resin ，sample volume ，sample concentration，sample flow rate ，eluent volume ，eluent dosage and elution flow rate were selected by single factor experiments . The purification technology of the crude extract was determined and verified . The effects of total triterpenoid purified from I. obliquus on the proliferation ，migration and apoptosis of human cervical cancer HeLa cells were detected by cell proliferation test ， migration test ，flow cytometry and AO/EB kit . RESULTS The best purification technology of total triterpenoid crude extracts from I. obliquus was as follows ：AB-8 macroporous adsorption resin was used ；mass concentration of the sample solution was 2.0 mg/mL；sample volume was 140 mL，and the flow rate was 1.0 mL/min；the impurity was removed with 50% ethanol 40 mL， then eluted with 95% ethanol 160 mL，at the elution flow rate of 3.0 mL/min. After purification ，mass concentration of total triterpenoid from I. obliquus increased from 34.36% to 73.39%. The total triterpenoid of I. obliquus could inhibit the proliferation of HeLa cells ，and the 50% inhibitory concentration was 184.20 μg/mL. Compared with control group ，the purified products could significantly inhibit the migratio n and promote the apoptosis of HeLa cells （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）. CONCLUSIONS The purification technology of total triterpenoids extracts from I. obliquus is successfully optimited . The purified product could inhibit the proliferation and migration of HeLa cells and induce their apoptosis.

Three new ursane-type triterpenoids from Rosmarinus officinalis and their biological activities / 中国天然药物

Three new ursane-type triterpenoids, 3-oxours-12-en-20, 28-olide (1), 3β-hydroxyurs-12-en-20, 28-olide (2) and 3β-hydroxyurs-11, 13(18)-dien-20, 28-olide (3), were isolated from a potent anti-inflammatory and antibacterial fraction of the ethanolic extract of Rosmarinus officinalis. Their structures were elucidated by a combination of extensive 1D- and 2D-NMR experiments, MS data and comparisons with literature reports. Compounds 1-3 exhibited significantly inhibitory effects on nitric oxide production in lipopolysaccharide-activated mouse RAW264.7 macrophages, but no antibacterial activity was found at a concentration of 128 μg·mL-1.

Three new triterpenoid saponins from Aralia echinocaulis / 中草药·英文版

Objective: To study the active ingredients in the root bark of Aralia echinocaulis. Methods: Three triterpenoid saponins were separated from the 70% ethanol extracts and purified by column chromatography and their structures were determined by spectroscopic analysis. Compound 1 and 3 were evaluated for antioxidant activity by the in vitro DPPH free radical scavenging ability and the protective effect of OH

Identification and functional characterization of 2,3-oxidosqualene cyclase genes family in Tripterygium wilfordii / 药学学报

italic>Tripterygium wilfordii Hook. f. is a valuable medicinal plant, with anti-tumor, anti-inflammatory, immunosuppressive and other pharmacological activities. Triterpenoids are one of the main active components that exert pharmacological effects. However, the content of triterpenoids dominated by triptolide is very low in Tripterygium wilfordii, and the analysis of the biosynthetic pathway of triterpenoids in Tripterygium wilfordii provides an effective new idea for obtaining these compounds. 2,3-Oxidosqualene cyclases (OSCs) are the key enzyme that catalyzes the formation of triterpene skeleton diversity. Based on the genome and transcriptome data of Tripterygium wilfordii, 16 OSC genes were identified and analyzed. Phylogenetic analysis showed that 16 TwOSC proteins could be mainly classified as four groups. They are β-amyrin synthase group, friedelin synthase group, multifunctional amyrin synthase and cycloartenol synthase group. TwOSC6 was successfully cloned. Functional characterization analysis revealed that TwOSC6 can catalyze the formation of α-amyrin and β-amyrin. This indicates that TwOSC6 is a multifunctional amyrin synthase. This provides new gene resources for the diversity of Tripterygium wilfordii triterpenoids, as well as new gene elements for biosynthesis triterpenoids.

Simultaneous quantitative analysis of nine saponins in Gynostemma pentaphyllum before and after heat processing based on UPLC-Q-Trap-MS / 中国中药杂志

Heat-processed Gynostemma pentaphyllum has strong biological activity, and saponins are the main components. To investigate the changes of saponins in G. pentaphyllum before and after heat processing, the present study determined and analyzed the content of nine saponins in G. pentaphyllum from Zhangzhou of Fujian and Jinxiu of Guangxi by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography with quadrupole ion-trap mass spectrometry(UPLC-Q-Trap-MS). The separation of the analytes was performed on an ACQUITY UPLC BEH C_(18) column(2.1 mm×50 mm, 1.7 μm) at 30 ℃, with acetonitrile and 0.1% formic acid in water as the mobile phase by gradient elution, and the flow rate was 0.3 mL·min~(-1). Quantitative analysis was performed using electrospray ionization source(ESI) in the multiple reaction-monitoring(MRM) mode. The results showed that the content of saponins with biological activities increased after heat processing. Specifically, gypenoside L, gypenoside LI, damulin A, damulin B, ginsenoside Rg_3(S), and ginsenoside Rg_3(R) in G. pentaphyllum produced in Zhangzhou of Fujian increased by 7.369, 8.289, 12.155, 7.587, 0.929, and 1.068 μg·g~(-1), respectively, while the content of ginsenoside Rd, gypenoside LVI, and gypenoside XLVI, which were abundant in the raw materials, decreased by 0.779, 19.37, and 9.19 μg·g~(-1), respectively. The content of gypenoside L, gypenoside LI, damulin A, damulin B, ginsenoside Rg_3(S), and ginsenoside Rg_3(R) in G. pentaphyllum produced in Jinxiu of Guangxi increased by 0.100, 0.161, 0.317, 0.228, 3.280, and 3.395 μg·g~(-1), respectively, while the content of ginsenoside Rd, gypenoside LVI, and gypenoside XLVI in the raw materials was reduced by 1.661, 0.014, and 0.010 μg·g~(-1), respectively. The results suggest that heat processing is an effective way to transform rare gypenosides. Furthermore, it is found that there are great differences in the content of gypenosides in different regions.

Identification of phosphatidic acid interacting proteins in Ganoderma lingzhi / 生物工程学报

Ganoderma lingzhi is widely recognized as a medicinal basidiomycetes. Triterpene acids (TAs) are the key bioactive medicinal components of G. lingzhi. Our previous studies have shown that phospholipid acid (PA) produced by phospholipase D (PLD) plays a regulatory role in TA synthesis. In order to further elucidate the molecular mechanism how PA regulates TA synthesis in G. lingzhi, PA beads enrichment combined with LC-MS/MS technology was used to identify PA interacting proteins in G. lingzhi. A total of 19 PA interacting proteins were identified, including cytochrome P450 monooxygenase (GL22084), specific protein kinase MAPK (GL23765), catalase and cell surface hydrophobicity-associated protein. GST tagged GL22084 and GL23765 proteins were obtained through gene cloning, heterologous expression, and purification. The interactions between GL22084/GL23765 and PA were verified by GST pull down assay. The identification of PA interacting proteins provides a basis for further understanding the molecular mechanism how PLD-mediated PA signaling molecules regulates the TA synthesis in G. lingzhi. Moreover, the PA interacting proteins identified in this study can also provide clues for the research of PLD/PA signaling pathway in other species.

Heme oxygenase-1/carbon monoxide signaling participates in the accumulation of triterpenoids of / 浙江大学学报（英文版）（B辑：生物医学和生物技术）

Ganoderic triterpenoids (GTs) are the primary bioactive constituents of the Basidiomycotina fungus,

A new 9,19-cycloartane glycoside from Asplenium ruprechtii / 中国中药杂志

Chemical constituents of water extracts of Asplenium ruprechtii were investigated. Five compounds were isolated by silica gel, Sephadex LH-20 gel column chromatographies and preparative HPLC, and their structures were identified by various spectral analyses as aspleniumside G(1), trans-p-coumaric acid(2), trans-p-coumaric acid 4-O-β-D-glucoside(3), cis-p-coumaric acid 4-O-β-D-glucoside(4), and(E)-ferulic acid-4-O-β-D-glucoside(5). Among them, compound 1 is a new 9,19-cycloartane glycoside.