New triterpene saponins from the seed cake of Camellia Oleifera and their cytotoxic activity

Two new oleanane-type triterpene saponins, identified as 16α-hydroxy-22-O-angeloyl-23-formyl-28,31-dihydroxymethylene-olean-12-ene-3β-O-{β- d -galactopyranosyl-(1 → 2)[β- d -xylopyranosyl-(1 → 2)-α- l -arabinopyranosyl(1 → 3)]-β- d -glucopyranosiduronic acid} (oleiferasaponin B1, 1) and 22-O-hydrocinnamoyl-23-formyl-28-dihydroxymethylene-olean-12-ene-3β-O-{β- d -glucopyranosyl-(1 → 2)[β- d -xylopyranosyl-(1 → 2)-α- l -arabinopyranosyl(1 → 3)]-β- d -glucopyranosiduronic acid} (oleiferasaponin B2, 2), were isolated from the seed cake of Camellia oleifera Abel. Their structures were established by extensive 1D- and 2D-NMR experiments along with TOF-MS analysis and acid hydrolysis. The cytotoxicity of the isolated compounds was evaluated in four human carcinoma cell lines: A 549, SK-OV-3, SK-MEL-2 and HCT15. Both compounds 1 and 2 exhibited significantly cytotoxic activity with IC50 values of 18.5 μM (A549), 11.3 μM (SK-OV-3), 13.9 μM (SK-MEL-2) and 1.6 μM (HCT15) for 1 and IC50 values of 8.4 μM (A549), 6.3 μM (SK-OV-3), 9.2 μM (SK-MEL-2) and 0.8 μM (HCT15) for 2. In addition, compound 2 showed more effective cytotoxic activity than compound 1.