Purification and anticancer activity investigation of pentacyclic triterpenoids from the leaves of Sinojackia sarcocarpa L.Q. Luo by high-speed counter-current chromatography

Abstract

Sinojackia sarcocarpa L.Q. Luo has high aesthetic value, which is clinically used to treat diseases such as the variations of arthritis, thromboangiitis obliterans, angina pectoris as well as many other diseases. Pentacyclic triterpenoids are the main pharmacological effective compounds. High-speed counter-current chromatography method was performed on a Midi-DE centrifuge at 25°C. The solvent system was n-hexane–ethylacetate–methanol–water (10 : 5 : 3 : 1, v/v). Peak fractions were collected according to the elution profile for subsequent high-performance liquid chromatography analysis. The structure identification was performed by ultraviolet, infrared, mass spectrometry, ¹H-NMR and ¹³C-NMR. Compound 2α,3α,19β,23β-tetrahydroxyurs-12-en-28-oic acid and 2α,3α,23β-trihydroxyurs-12-en-28-oic acid were purified from the plant of Styracaceaen genius for the first time, whose purities were 96.57% and 97.33%, respectively. Compared with the same dose of oral 5-fluorouracil with 57.6% inhibition rate, the S₁₈₀ tumour inhibition rates of 20 mg kg⁻¹ d⁻¹ two compounds were 59.5% and 48.9%, respectively.

Keywords:

• Sinojackia sarcocarpa L.Q. Luo
• high-speed counter-current chromatography
• pentacyclic triterpenoids
• S₁₈₀

Acknowledgements

This project was supported by fellowship for Young Teachers of Leshan Teacher's College (Z07033), National Natural Science Foundation of China (30801359) and Key Programs for Science and Technology Development of China (2007BAC18B04). Sujun Liu, Mei Cao and Daxu Li contributed equally to this study.