Isolation of triterpenoid saponins from Medicago sativa L. with neuroprotective activities.

Three new pentacyclic triterpenoid saponins (1-3), together with medicagenic acid (4) were isolated and purified from 70% EtOH extract of Medicago sativa L. by different column chromatographic and semi-preparative HPLC. Their structures were established by direct interpretation of their spectral data, mainly HR-ESI-MS, 1D-NMR, 2D-NMR, and chemical methods, as well as comparison with literature data. Additionally, all isolates were evaluated for their neuroprotective activities against H2O2-induced damage in human neuroblastoma SHSY5Y cells. As a results, compounds 1 and 2 (67.14% and 73.05%) exhibited potent neuroprotective activities. These findings provide new insights into developing better treatment of neurodegenerative diseases for M. sativa in the future.

A network pharmacology study on the triterpene saponins from Medicago sativa L. for the treatment of Neurodegenerative diseases.

Neurodegenerative diseases (NDDs) are characterized by progressive and irreversible, is a kind of complex illnesses, and the long-term therapy which is frequently associated with adverse side effects. Medicago sativa L., widely consumed as a vegetable, has the effects of improving memory and relieving central nervous system diseases. However, there are less studies on its specific mechanism for NDDs. In this investigation, we applied a method of network pharmacology, which combined molecular docking and network analysis to decipher the mechanisms of M. sativa in NDDs. The pharmacological system generated 55 triterpene saponins from M. sativa, and predicted 27 potential targets with 100 pathways in the treatment of NDDs. As a result, 13 compounds, 10 target proteins, and 6 signaling pathways were found to play important roles in the treatment of NDDs. In addition, in vitro experiments of isolates confirmed activities for NDDs, which were consistent with the results of network pharmacology prediction. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: Medicago sativa L. has been widely consumed as a vegetable, which possesses many nutritional components. As a functional food stuff, M. sativa can improve human health, such as memory improving activities, relieving central nervous system diseases, immunomodulatory, antioxidant, anticancer, and anti-inflammatory. In this article, the mechanism of triterpene saponins from M. sativa against NDDs was successfully predicted by network pharmacology method. The results will serve as a reference of M. sativa against NDDs.

The neuroprotective and antioxidant profiles of selenium-containing polysaccharides from the fruit of Rosa laevigata.

Rosa laevigata fruit has been known as a functional foodstuff for a long time. Recently, increasing attention has been given to polysaccharides from R. laevigata fruit due to their numerous medicinal and nutritional properties. In this study, a rapid and effective approach for the extraction and separation of polysaccharides from the title fruit was developed using microwave-assisted aqueous two-phase extraction (MA-ATPE) with a PEG/ammonium sulfate system. After analysis of the response surface methodology (RSM) data based on a Box-Behnken design (BBD), a model was proposed and was found to predict an optimum yield value of 258.99 mg g-1 which is in good agreement with the experimental value (258.59 mg g-1). Two selenium (Se)-containing polysaccharides, Se-RLFP-1 and Se-RLFP-2, were isolated from R. laevigata fruit. Their chemical structures were elucidated by acid hydrolysis, weight-average molecular mass and Se-content analysis, along with UV, FT-IR, 1H and 13C NMR spectroscopy. As a result, Se-RLFP-1 was found to be mainly composed of mannose, glucose, galactose and xylose in a molar ratio of 1.4 : 7.9 : 1.0 : 1.5, while Se-RLFP-2 was composed of mannose, rhamnose, glucose, galactose and xylose (12.6 : 1.0 : 38.3 : 5.6 : 19.6). Furthermore, the antioxidant properties of the polysaccharides were investigated on the basis of FRAP, ABTS and DPPH radical scavenging assays. The results showed that the two polysaccharides had a noticeable effect on the radical scavenging of ABTS and DPPH, especially at high concentrations. In addition, the neuroprotective effect of Se-RLFP-1 and Se-RLFP-2 against oxidative stress induced by H2O2 in SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells was also investigated. In particular, Se-RLFP-1 exhibited obvious neuroprotective activity at a concentration of 100 µg mL-1.