Bioactive Constituents from the Roots of Panax japonicus var. MAJOR and Development of a LC-MS/MS Method for Distinguishing between Natural and Artifactual Compounds

摘要

Two new saponins, panajaponol (>1) and pseudoginsenoside RT1 butyl ester (>2), together with 35 known compounds (>3–>37), were isolated from the roots of Panax japonicus. The structures of >1 and >2 were elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic analysis and chemical methods. Furthermore, a LC-MS/MS method was developed for confirming >2, >3, and >8 as natural compounds containing a butyl ester group. This method should be useful for distinguishing between minor natural and artifactual compounds in Panax species. Moreover, compounds >3, >6, >8, >9, >11, >13, and >15 exhibited strong inhibition of superoxide anion generation and elastase release by human neutrophils in response to formyl-L-methionyl-L-leucyl-L-phenylalanine/cytochalasin B (fMLP/CB), with IC50 values ranging from 0.78 to 43.6 μM. In addition, >1 showed greater than two- to three-fold selective cytotoxic activity against KB and DU145 cancer cell lines.