The most well-known medicinal plant, Panax ginseng (P. ginseng), contains various phytosterols and bioactive triterpene saponins (ginsenosides). Squalene synthase is a key regulatory enzyme for triterpene biosynthesis and overexpression of the squalene synthase confers the hyper-production of triterpene saponins to form transgenic ginseng. In this study, we have investigated whether and how tra...

Pectin administered to Uncaria tomentosa cell suspension cultures, was found to increase the production of triterpene acids (ursolic and oleanolic acid), however, neither growth nor sterol accumulation were affected. Cell cultures showed that pectin treatment caused a rapid threefold increase in the activities of enzymes involved in the biosynthesis of C(5) and C(30 )isoprenoid, such as isopent...

Four new triterpene glycosides, variegatusides C-F (1-4), together with three structurally known triterpene glycosides, variegatusides A and B (5, 6), and holothurin B (7), were isolated from the sea cucumber Stichopus variegates Semper (Holothuriidae), collected from the South China Sea. Their structures were elucidated on the basis of extensive spectral analysis (nuclear magnetic resonance (N...

Purification of the n-BuOH fraction of the aqueous alcoholic extract from the roots of Phytolacca americana resulted in the isolation of two triterpene saponins named esculentoside B (1), and esculentoside A (2). The structures of isolated compounds were characterized on the basis of extensive spectral data (1D and 2D NMR; and MS) and in comparison with their Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) an...

Two new 9,19-cycloartane triterpene glycosides 1-2, together with four known compounds--26-deoxyactein (3), actein (4), 7,8-didehydro-26-deoxyactein (5) and cimiaceroside B (6)--were isolated from the rhizome of Cimicifuga foetida. The new triterpene glycosides were identified as 23-O-methyl-24-deoxy-2'-O-(3''-methylmalonyl)-cimiaceroside B (1) and 2'-O-(3''-methylmalonyl)actein (2) based on an...

The phytochemical studies of Eschweilera longipes Miers (Lecythidaceae) have led to the identification of a new triterpene 3beta, 24-dihydroxyfriedelane, the known 1beta, 2beta, 3beta, 19beta-tetrahydroxyurs-12-en-28-oic acid (1beta-hydroxyeucaphic acid) besides the saponin sitosterol 3betaO-betaD-glucopyranoside. The structures were established from the IR, NMR and mass spectra data including ...

Six new triterpene glucosides, quadranosides VI-XI (1-6), belonging to three different [ursane- (1-4), oleanane- (5) and lupane-type (6)] triterpene classes, have been isolated from a MeOH extract of the seeds of Combretum quadrangulare KURZ (Combretaceae), together with nine known compounds, rosamutin (7), 28-O-beta-D-glucopyranosyl-6beta,23-dihydroxytormentic acid (8), arjunetin (9), arjunglu...

Saponins, an important group of bioactive plant natural products, are glycosides of triterpenoid or steroidal aglycones (sapogenins). Saponins possess many biological activities, including conferring potential health benefits for humans. However, most of the steps specific for the biosynthesis of triterpene saponins remain uncharacterized at the molecular level. Here, we use comprehensive gene ...

In an in vitro cytopathic effect inhibition assay with the H3N2 influenza virus A/Hong Kong/68 (HK/68), the bark extract of Burkea africana was found to be a promising antiviral lead with an IC50 value of 5.5 μg/mL without noteworthy cytotoxicity in Madin Darby canine kidney cells. After several chromatographic steps, triterpene saponins of the lupane and oleanane types were identified as the b...

As Heftmann, Bennett, and Bonner have indicated (l), considerable information has accumulated concerning the biosynthesis of sterols in animals (2) and fungi (3), yet practically nothing is known about the biogenesis of typically higher plant sterols or the numerous pentacyclic triterpenes that are widely distributed throughout the plant kingdom. As yet, it cannot be assumed that the over-all b...