Cytotoxic triterpenoid saponins from the defatted seeds of Camellia oleifera Abel

Abstract

Five new oleanane-type triterpenoid saponins, oleiferasaponins D₁–D₅ (1–5), were isolated from the defatted seeds of Camellia oleifera Abel. Their structures were elucidated by spectroscopic and chemical methods. The cytotoxic activities of compounds 1–5 were evaluated against five human tumor cell lines (HCT-116, HepG2, BGC-823, NCI-H1650, and A2780). Compounds 1–2 exhibited cytotoxic activity against five human cancer cell lines, with IC₅₀ values ranging from 3.31 to 10.23 μM. Compounds 3–5 showed moderate cytotoxic activities toward the tested cell lines.

Keywords:

• Camellia oleifera
• triterpenoid saponins
• oleanane-type
• oleiferasaponins D₁–D₅
• cytotoxic activity

Acknowledgments

We thank Prof. Ai-Hong Liu at Center of Analysis And Testing Nanchang University for NMR measurements.