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Adenophora triphylla is an important medicinal and food plant found in East Asia. This plant is rich in secondary metabolites such as triterpenoid saponin, and its leaves can develop into different types, such as round and linear, depending on the origin of germination even within the same species. Despite this, few studies have comprehensively characterized the development processes of different leaf types and triterpenoid saponin pathways in this plant. Herein, we provide the first report of a high-quality genome assembly of A. triphylla based on a combination of Oxford Nanopore Technologies and Illumina sequencing methods. Its genome size was estimated to be 2.6 Gb, and the assembled genome finalized as 2.48 Gb, containing 57,729 protein-coding genes. Genome completeness was assessed as 95.6% using the Benchmarking Universal Single-Copy Orthologs score. The evolutionary divergence of A. triphylla was investigated using the genomes of five plant species, including two other species in the Campanulaceae family. The species A. triphylla diverged approximately 51-118 million years ago from the other four plants, and 579 expanded/contracted gene families were clustered in the Gene Ontology terms. The expansion of the β-amyrin synthase ( bAS ) gene, a key enzyme in the triterpenoid saponin pathway, was identified in the A. triphylla genome. Furthermore, transcriptome analysis of the two leaf types revealed differences in the activity of starch, sucrose, unsaturated fatty acid pathways, and oxidoreductase enzymes. The heat and endoplasmic reticulum pathways related to plant stress were active in the development of round type leaf, while an enhancement of pyrimidine metabolism related to cell development was confirmed in the development of the linear type leaf. This study provides insight into the evolution of bAS genes and the development of different leaf types in A. triphylla .

Roots of Platycodon grandiflorus A. De Candolle (Campanulaceae), with the bark removed, have been used as food and frequently employed as herbal medicines for inflammatory diseases such as tonsillitis, dermatitis, and cough. Platycodins are the bioactive saponin components of these crude medicines. Recently, P. grandiflorus have been cultivated in Japan and are harvested from October to December according to conventional practices. Seasonal fluctuations in the total saponin content of these roots were determined using LC/MS methods to recommend harvesting times when the saponin content is high. Platycodins A and C are monoacetylated forms of platycodin D; however, the acetyl form is unstable and deacetylates easily. Here, the contents of platycodin D, platycodin D 2 , and platyconic acid A were measured as the total saponin content using alkaline hydrolysis for monoacetylated platycodins D, D 2, and platyconic acid A. The results demonstrated that the saponin content in the roots decreased in summer, increased in autumn, but decreased again in late autumn., (© 2022. The Author(s) under exclusive licence to The Japanese Society of Pharmacognosy.)

Abstract: Aralia elata has long been used as a tonic, anticancer and antidiabetic agent in China and Japan, and is widely consumed as food. Phytochemical investigation of the leaves of A. elata has led to the isolation of four new compounds, 3-O-[β-d-glucopyranosyl(1→3)-β-d-glucopyranosyl] echinocystic acid 28-O-β-d-glucopyranosyl ester (congmuyenoside I, 1), 3-O-[β-d-glucopyranosyl(1→2)-β-d-glucopyranosyl] hederagenin 28-O-β-d-glucopyranosyl ester (congmuyenoside II, 2), 3-O-{[β-d-glucopyranosyl(1→2)]-[β-d-glucopyranosyl(1→3)-β-d-glucopyranosyl(1→3)]-β-d-glucopyranosyl} echinocystic acid 28-O-β-d-glucopyranosyl ester (congmuyenoside III, 3) and 3-O-β-d-glucopyranosyl caulophyllogenin 28-O-β-d-glucopyranosyl ester (congmuyenoside IV, 4), and eight known triterpene saponins (5–12). The structural determination was accomplished with spectroscopic analysis, in particularly 13C NMR, 2D NMR and HR-ESI-MS techniques. In addition, compounds 5–10 were found for the first time in the genus Aralia. Compounds 1–12 were tested for their inhibition of the growth of HL60, A549 and DU145 cancer cells. In addition, compound 8 showed significant cytotoxic activities against HL60, A549 and DU145 cancer cells with IC50 values of 15.62, 11.25 and 7.59μM, respectively. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The article discusses the result of the study on the cloning and characterization of saponin hydrolases from Aspergillus oryzae and Eupenicillium brefeldianum, in Japan. Glycoproteins were confirmed to be the enzymes that come from these hydrolases. Each enzyme's deduced amino acid sequences from the cloned genes showed a homology with that of the saponin hydrolase Sdn1 from Neocosmospora vasinfecta var. vasinfecta. The soyasaponin I to soyasapogel B and triose were hydrolyzed with recombinant enzymes.

Soybeans contain several putative anticarcinogens. To determine which anticarcinogenis most likely responsible for the hypothesized anticancer effects of soyspecifically in regard to breast and prostate cancer, Japanese dietary dataand findings from epidemiologic studies were first used to estimate the amountof soy associated with anticancer effects. On the basis of this information,the experimental data for likely candidates were evaluated. One hundred gof tofu was selected as a basis for estimating the contribution of soy tothe total Japanese dietary intake of the various anticarcinogens in soybeans.Data suggest that tofu contributes only minor amounts of phenolic acids (<1%),phytosterols (<5%), and vitamin E (∼10%), modest amounts of protein(10–13%), omega-3 fatty acids (∼15%), and phytate (∼20%), butlarge amounts of saponins (∼80%), the Bowman-Birk Inhibitor (BBI) (∼90%),and isoflavones (100%). The evidence that saponins inhibit breast and prostatecancer risk is unimpressive. The BBI clearly has exciting potential as a chemopreventiveagent but data specifically for breast and prostate cancer are not strong.In contrast, several lines of evidence suggest isoflavones reduce breast (primarilyvia early exposure) and prostate cancer risk. Thus, if soy consumption reducescancer risk, protective effects are likely due solely to isoflavones. However,this conclusion does not preclude the possibility that other soybean anticarcinogens,when consumed in amounts greater than that found in 100 g tofu, exert anticancereffects in humans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Possible involvement of an endogenous digitalislike substance (EDLS) in blood pressure regulation was investigated using a Japanese population. Mean arterial pressure (MAP) significantly correlated with urinary excretion of the EDLS, age, and the obesity index. The plasma EDLS correlated with urinary EDLS. Urinary EDLS excretion well correlated with the inhibitory activity on Na+,K+-ATPase, and also with the urinary excretion of NaCl. Obesity index correlated with the Na+,K+-ATPase inhibition and arterial pressure. Although plasma content of atrial natriuretic polypeptide correlated with the urinary Na+,K+-ATPase inhibition, it did not correlate with the rest of all parameters. Plasma vasopressin level did not correlate with these parameters either. These results clearly indicate that the circulating EDLS (ie, Na+,K+-ATPase inhibitor) is implicated in the hypertension associated with an excess intake of sodium, aging and obesity.

The preparative separation of saikosaponins a, c, and d from Bupleurum falcatum was performed by high-performance liquid chromatography on a 100 X 11 cm I.D. axially compressed column, packed with 20-micron ODS silica gel using a step gradient with mixtures of acetonitrile and water as the mobile phase. Gram quantities of pure compounds were obtained in a single run.