Steroidal saponins, important natural organic compounds in Paris polyphylla var. yunnanensis, have good biological activity. Structural modification of steroidal saponins by microbial transformation could produce a large number of products with novel structures and excellent bioactivity, which can provide functional compounds for the research and development of steroidal drugs. This study summarized the research progress in steroidal saponins and their microbial transformation in P. polyphylla var. yunnanensis. P. polyphylla var. yunnanensis contains 112 steroidal saponins, 8 of which are used as substrates in 35 transformation reactions by 25 microbial species, with the highest transformation rate of 95%. Diosgenin is the most frequently used substrate. Furthermore, the strains, culture medium, reaction conditions, transformation rate, transformation reaction characteristics, and biological activities of the transformed products were summarized. This review may provide reference for the further research on microbial transformation of steroidal saponins in P. polyphylla var. yunnanensis.
Diosgenin/analysis* ; Liliaceae/chemistry* ; Melanthiaceae/chemistry* ; Rhizome/chemistry* ; Saponins/analysis*

The rhizome of Panax japonicus var. major have been used as the natural medicinal agent by Chinese traditional doctors for more than thousand years. Most of the therapeutic effects of P. japonicus var. major had been reported due to the presence of tetracyclic or pentacyclic triterpene saponins. In this study, Illumina pair-end RNA-sequencing and de novo splicing were done in order to understand the pathway of triterpenoid saponins in this species. The valid reads data of 15. 6 Gb were obtained. The 62 240 unigenes were finally obtained by de novo splicing. After annotation, we discovered 19 unigenes involved in ginsenoside backbone biosynthesis. Additionally, 69 unigenes and 18 unigenes were predicted to have potential function of cytochrome P450 and UDP-glycosyltransferase based on the annotation results, which may encode enzymes responsible for ginsenoside backbone modification. This study provides global expressed datas for P. japonicus var. major, which will contribute significantly to further genome-wide research and analysis for this species.
Gene Expression Profiling ; Panax ; genetics ; Saponins ; biosynthesis ; Sequence Analysis, RNA

The saponins extracted from the stem of Asparagus officinalis L., is a glucoside. In the mean time, it solved the problem of environment pollution about wastes of Asparagus officinalis L., and made the waste useful. The factors affected extractive efficiency of the saponin from Asparagus officinalis L. was investigated. The optimal conditions were 95% alcohol; V/W = 6:1; 90 degrees C; 4h. The saponins average abstraction rate from fresh and dry wastes of Asparagus officinalis L. was 1.70% and 4.01% respectively. The saponins were dissociated with Al2O3 column. The eluent was 40% alcohol, the elute curves showed a symmetrical peak. The compound structure was determined by UV, IR and HPLC spectra et al. The results indicated that it belonged to the furostanol saponins and its glycosyl composed of xylose, fucose, arabinose, as well as the mole ratio was Xyl: Fuc : Ara = 1.0:0.13:19.42, Mw 18 500. In this paper, the saponins were extracted from wastes of Asparagus officinalis L. and analyzed glycosyl component in detail.
Asparagus Plant ; chemistry ; Monosaccharides ; analysis ; Saponins ; chemistry ; isolation & purification

The solubility parameter determination of astrageloside from Buyang Huanwu decoction with inverse gas chromatography (IGC) method evaluation was investigated in this paper. Di-n-octyl phthalate Kwai alternative sample was used to carry out methodological study. The accuracy of the measured correlation coefficient was 0.992 1. Experimental precision measured by IGC experiments showed that the results were accurate and reliable. The sample was uniformly coated on the surface of an inert carrier and N2 gas was carrier gas, a variety of polar solvents such as isopropanol, toluene, acetone, chloroform, cyclohexane as probes. TCD detector temperature was 150 degrees C, gas room temperature was 120 degrees C. Similar headspace method was used whichever over 1 μL gas into the GC measurement, Retention time t(R), t(0) and all the parameters of air and probes molecules within the column were tested. Astragaloside solubility parameter was (21.02 ± 2.4) [J x cm(-3)] ½, literature value was 19.24 [J x cm(-3)] ½, and relevant coefficient was 0.984 5. IGC method is effective and accurate to measure ingredients solubility parameter.
Chromatography, Gas ; methods ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; analysis ; Saponins ; chemistry ; Solubility

OBJECTIVETo study the antioxidant activities of different extracts from Astragalus mongholicus.

METHODThe antioxidant activities of the total flavanoids (TFA), the total saponins (TSA) and the total polysaccharides (TPA) from A. mongholicus were measured by means of biochemiluminescence. The concentrations of these samples varied from 1.25 x 10(-3) g x L(-1) to 25 x10(-3) g x L(-1).

RESULTAll the extracts showed antioxidant activities of scavenging 3 different free radicals with obvious concentration-scavenging capacity relationship. The antioxidant activity of TFA was the strongest among them. The IC50 of scavenging superoxide anion radicals of TFA (55.48% TFA, 0.59% TFA and 0.36% TFA) were 0.654 2, 4.654 4 and 6.055 2 g x L(-1), the IC50 of scavenging hydroxyl anion were 0.060 5, 0.254 4 and 0.493 0 g x L(-1), and the IC50 of scavenging hydrogen peroxide were 0.010 4, 0.156 0 and 0.224 0 g x L(-1), respectively.

CONCLUSIONThe extracts are more sensitive to hydrogen peroxide and hydroxyl anion than to superoxide anion radicals. TFA of A. mongholicus Bunge is the main component responsible for antioxidant activity, while TSA and TPA have weaker antioxidant activity. The antioxidant activity of TFA increases with the rise of its purity. On the contrary, the antioxidant activity of TSA and TPA decreases with the rise of their purity.

Antioxidants ; analysis ; Astragalus Plant ; chemistry ; Flavonoids ; analysis ; Plant Extracts ; analysis ; Saponins ; analysis

OBJECTIVETo establish the fingerprint chromatograms of the extract of Cimicifugae Rhizoma firstly.

METHODPhenolic acids and triterpenoid saponins were analyzed by HPLC. Hypersil BDS C18 (4.6 mm x 250 mm, 5 microm) column was used, the mobile phase was composed of acetonitrile -0.1% H3PO4 with gradient elution, flow rate was 1.0 mL x min(-1), column temprature was 30 degrees C, and the detection wavelength was set at 316 nm and 210 nm.

RESULTIn the fingerprint of phenolic acids, thirteen feature peaks were found and the RSD of relative retention time and relative peak area were all less than 3% in the precision and repeation experiments. The similarity of ten batches of samples were all more than 0.90. In the fingerprint of triterpenoid saponins, fourteen feature peaks were found and the RSD of relative retention time and relative peak area were all less than 4% in the precision and repeation experiments. The similarity of ten batches of samples were all more than 0.90.

CONCLUSIONThis method is comprehensive, stable, reliable and can be used to evaluate the quality of the extract of Cimicifugae Rhizoma. It has provided a reference to the analysis on pharmacodynamic deferences of Cimicifuga extracts and also laid the foundation for its further development.

Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; methods ; Cimicifuga ; chemistry ; Hydroxybenzoates ; analysis ; Plant Extracts ; analysis ; Saponins ; analysis ; Triterpenes ; analysis

To comprehensively utilize the rich resource of Aquilaria sinensis,the ethanol extract of the leaves of A. sinensis was further chemically investigated, which led to the isolation of 12 compounds. By means of 'H- , "C-NMR, and ESI-MS data, and through comparison with those reported in literatures,their structures were identified as iriflophenone 2-(O-a-L)-rhamnoside(1) ,4'-hydroxy-5 methoxyflavone-7-O-glucoxyloside (2) ,7,3',5'-tri-O-methyltricetin(3) ,7-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside of 5-O-methylapigenin(4) ,2-phenyl-ethyl-D-glucopyranoside( 5), salidroside, (6) , benzyl alcohol O-beta-D-glucopyranoside (7) , 2, 6-dimethoxy-4-hydroxyphenol-1-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside(8) ,vanilloloside(9) , ( + ) -syringaresinol( 10) ,beta-tocopherol( 11) and stigmast-5-ene-3beta,7alpha-diol( 12). Among them, compounds 2,3,5-9,11 and 12 were isolated from this genus for the first time. This research hopefully provides valuable data for the further utilization and development of the leaves of A. sinensis.
Glucosides ; analysis ; Glycosides ; analysis ; Phenols ; analysis ; Plant Extracts ; chemistry ; Plant Leaves ; chemistry ; Saponins ; analysis ; Thymelaeaceae ; chemistry

Xanthoceras sorbifolium seeds have a wide range of applications in the food and pharmaceutical industries. To compare and analyze the chemical compositions of different parts of X. sorbifolium seeds and explore the potential value and research prospects of non-medicinal parts, this study used ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography quadrupole Orbitrap high-resolution mass spectrometry(UHPLC-Q-Orbitrap HRMS) to detect the chemical composition of various parts of the seeds. A total of 82 components were preliminary identified from X. sorbifolium seeds, including 5 amino acids, 4 polyphenols, 3 phenylpropionic acids, 7 organic acids, 15 flavonoids, 6 glycosides, and 23 saponins. Mass spectrometry molecular networking(MN) analysis was conducted on the results from different parts of the seeds, revealing significant differences in the components of the seed kernel, seed coat, and seed shell. The saponins and flavonoids in the seed kernel were superior in terms of variety and content to those in the seed coat and shell. Based on the chromatographic peaks of different parts from multiple batches of samples, multivariate statistical analysis was carried out. Four differential components were determined using HPLC, and the average content of these components in the seed kernel, seed coat, and seed shell were as follows: 0.183 6, 0.887 4, and 1.440 1 mg·g~(-1) for fraxin; 0.035 8, 0.124 1, and 0.044 5 mg·g~(-1) for catechin; 0.032 9, 0.072 0, and 0.221 5 mg·g~(-1) for fraxetin; 0.435 9, 2.114 7, and 0.259 7 mg·g~(-1) for epicatechin. The results showed that catechin and fraxetin had relatively low content in all parts, while fraxin had higher content in the seed coat and seed shell, and epicatechin had higher content in the seed kernel and seed coat. Therefore, the seed coat and seed shell possess certain development value. This study provides rapid analysis and comparison of the chemical compositions of different parts of X. sorbifolium seeds, which offers an experimental basis for the research and clinical application of medicinal substances in X. sorbifolium seeds.
Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid/methods* ; Catechin/analysis* ; Flavonoids/analysis* ; Seeds/chemistry* ; Saponins/analysis*

It is generally believed that high-quality Bupleurum scorzonerifolium roots possess specific morphological characteristics, being red, robust, and long with strong odor. However, the scientific connotation of these characteristics has not been elucidated. According to the theory of "quality evaluation through morphological identification", we studied the correlations between appearance traits(the RGB value of root surface, root length, root diameter, dry weight, and ratio of phloem to xylem) and content of main chemical components(volatile oils, total saponins, total flavonoids, total polysaccharides, and seven saikosaponins) of B. scorzonerifolium roots. Epson Scanner and ImageJ were used to scan the root samples and measure the appearance traits. Ultraviolet spectrophotometry and HPLC were employed to determine the content of chemical components. The correlation, regression, and cluster analyses were performed to study the correlations between the appearance traits and the content of chemical components. The results showed that the content of volatile oils and saikosaponins were significantly correlated with RGB value, root length, and root diameter, indicating that within a certain range, the roots being redder, longer, and thicker had higher content of volatile oils and saikosaponins. According to the appearance traits and chemical component content, the 14 samples from different producing areas were classified into four grades, and the differences in morphological traits and chemical component content were consistent among different grades. The findings in this study demonstrate that appearance traits(RGB value, root length, and root diameter) can be used to evaluate the quality of B. scorzonerifolium roots. Meanwhile, this study lays a foundation for establishing an objective quality evaluation method for B. scorzonerifolium roots.
Bupleurum/chemistry* ; Saponins/analysis* ; Oleanolic Acid/analysis* ; Oils, Volatile/analysis* ; Plant Roots/chemistry*

OBJECTIVETo breed new varieties with better uniformity and commercial quality as well as higher saikosaponin contents.

METHODThe excellent germplasm resources were selected from "zhongchai no. 1" population. Single plant method was applied to get better varieties. All the breeding material was investigated according to morphological characters, agronomic characters and the contents of saikosaponin a and saikosaponin d. The experiments of comparative test and varieties regional test were carried out.

RESULTThe bred new varieties of "zhongchai No. 2" and "zhongchai No. 3" had better uniformity. The dark brown roots ratios of the two varieties were 83.2%, 89.9%, respectively. The contents of saikosaponins (a + d) of the two varieties reached 1.31%, 1.02%, respectively.

CONCLUSION"zhongchai No. 2" and " zhongchai No. 3" both had the advantages of better uniformity, darker brown roots and higher saikosaponin contents.

Breeding ; Bupleurum ; chemistry ; genetics ; growth & development ; Oleanolic Acid ; analogs & derivatives ; analysis ; Plant Extracts ; analysis ; Saponins ; analysis