Antitumor evaluation and multiple analysis on different extracted fractions of the root of Cynanchum auriculatum Royle ex Wight.

The root of Cynanchum auriculatum (C. auriculatum) Royle ex Wight has been shown to possess various pharmacological effects and has recently attracted much attention with respect to its potential role in antitumor activity. The C-21 steroidal glycosides are commonly accepted as the major active ingredients of C. auriculatum. In this study, the antitumor abilities of different extracted fractions of the root bark and the root tuber of C. auriculatum were investigated by using a 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay in human cancer cell lines HepG2 and SMMC-7721. The results showed that the chloroform and ethyl acetate fractions of the root tuber suppressed tumor cell growth strongly. To identify and characterize the chemical constituents of different active fractions, an ultra high performance liquid chromatography with triple-quadrupole tandem mass spectrometry method was developed for the simultaneous quantitation of eight C-21 steroidal glycosides. The analysis revealed that the C-21 steroidal glycosides were concentrated in the chloroform and ethyl acetate fractions, and the total contents of different fractions in the root tuber were significantly higher than those of corresponding ones in the root bark. Furthermore, the C-21 steroidal glycosides based on different types of aglucones were prone in different medicinal parts of C. auriculatum.

[Studies on the chemical constituents from the stems of Acanthopanax gracilistylus].

OBJECTIVE: To study the chemical constituents from the stems of Acanthopanax gracilistylus. METHODS: The chemical constituents of the plant were isolated and puried by column chromatography and their structures were elucidated on the basis of physico-chemical properties and spectral data. RESULTS: Sixteen compounds were isolated and identified as (2S,3S, 4R, 8E)-2-[(2'R)-2'-hydroxy-pentadecanoylamino]-heptacosane-1,3,4-triol-8-ene(1a),(2S,3S,4R,8E)-2-[(2'R)-2'-hydroxy-octadecanoylamino]-lignocer-ane-1,3,4-triol-8-ene(1b), (2S, 3S, 4R, 8E) -2-[(2'R) -2'-hydroxy-heneicosanoylamino]-heneicosane-1,3,4-triol-8-ene (1c), (2S, 3S,4R, 8E)-2-[(2'R) -2'-hydroxy-docosanoylamino] -eicosane-1,3,4-triol-8-ene (1d), (2S, 3S, 4R, 8E)-2-[(2'R)-2'-hydroxy-trico-sanoylamino]-nonadecane-1,3,4-triol-8-ene (1e), (2S,3S,4R,8E)-2-[(2'R)-2'-hydroxy-lignocera-noylamino]-cctadecane-1,3,4-tri-ol-8-ene(1f), 1-O-beta-D-glucopyranosyl-(2S, 3S, 4R, 8E)-2-[(2'R)-2'-hydroxy-pentadecanoylamino]-nonadecane-1, 3, 4-triol-8-ene (2), 16alpha-hydroxy-ent-kauran-19-ocid (3), 16alphaH, 17-isovaleryloxy-ent-kauran-19-oic acid (4), coniferin (5), syringin (6), eleutheroside D (7), stigmasterol (8), beta-sitosterol (9), daucosterol (10), pentacosanoic acid (11). CONCLUSION: Compounds 1a - f, 2 are isolated from this genus for the first time, and compounds 4, 5, 11 are firstly obtained from Acanthopanax gracilistylus.