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 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

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

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

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

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

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

To study the triterpenoids and triterpenoid saponins of Viscum liquidambaricolum further, chemical constituents were isolated from the title plant by various chromatographic methods such as silica gel and ODS medium pressure column chromatography, Sephadex LH-20 column chromatography, et al. Their structures were elucidated by physiochemical properties and spectral analysis. Eight triterpenoids and triterpenoid saponins were isolated and identified as myricadiol(1), maslinic acid(2), 2alpha, 3beta, 23-trihydroxyolean-12-en-28-oic acid(3), oleanolic acid 3-O-beta-D-glucuronopyranoside-6'-O-methyl ester(4), oleanolic acid 3-O-beta-D-glucuropyranoside(5), oleanolic acid 3-O-beta-D-glucopyranosyl-(1-->2)-alpha-L-arabinopyranoside (6), 3-O-beta-D-glucuronopyranosyl-oleanolic acid-28-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside (7), 3-O-beta-D-glucuronopyranosyl-oleanolic acid-28-O-beta-D-glucopyranosyl-(1-->6)-beta-D-glucopyranoside (8). Compounds 1-8 were isolated from this plant and the genus for the first time.
Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; analysis ; isolation & purification ; Saponins ; analysis ; isolation & purification ; Triterpenes ; analysis ; isolation & purification ; Viscum ; chemistry

Thirty-two batches of cultivated and wild Glycyrrhiza uralensis were obtained from three geographical regions. Comparative study of water characteristic components of G. uralensis from three geographical origins was conducted by PCA,OPLS-DA chemical pattern recognition combined with LC-TOF/MS and muti-component analysis. The similarity of fingerprints of 32 batches of medicinal materials ranged from 0. 903 to 0. 999. Patterns recognition could be used to distinguish cultivated G. uralensis in Gansu and Xinjiang areas from cultivated and wild plants in Inner Mongolia. Then a total of thirty-one common constituents were identified by LC-TOF/MS analysis coupled with standard compounds information. The contents of four flavonoid glycosides and five saponins were determinated by HPLC and compared using One-way ANOVA. The results showed that there was no significant difference in the contents of 5 triterpenoid saponins among the three regions,but the contents of 4 flavonoid saponins showed the trend of Inner Mongolia >Gansu≈Xinjiang( P<0. 05). In the same Inner Mongolia region,the contents of 4 flavonoid glycosides and 5 triterpenoid saponins in wild plant was significantly higher than that in cultivated plants( P<0. 01). In addition,the contents of liquiritin,isoliquiritin,licorice-saponin A_3,22β-acetoxyl-glycyrrhizic acid and uralsaponin B in Gansu and Xinjiang were obviously lower than those in Inner Mongolia,but the contents of glycyrrhizic acid,the main component of G. uralensis,were not different in the three geographical regions. In Inner Mongolia,the contents of liquiritin,isoliquiritin,licorice-saponin A_3,licorice-saponin G_2 and glycyrrhizic acid in wild plants were significantly higher than those in cultivated plants. In conclusion,qualitative/quantitative analysis of multi-index components combined with pattern recognition could effectively evaluate the quality of cultivated and wild licorice in different regions. It was helpful for us to understand the reality of licorice in different regions,and provided scientific basis for the development and comprehensive utilization of licorice resources.
China ; Geography ; Glycyrrhiza uralensis ; chemistry ; Glycyrrhizic Acid ; analysis ; Plant Extracts ; analysis ; Saponins ; analysis ; Water