Phenolic Compounds from Belamcanda chinensis Seeds

Two new sucrose derivatives, namely, belamcanosides A (1) and B (2), together with five other known compounds (3-7), were isolated from the seeds of Belamcanda chinensis (L.) DC. Their structures were identified based on spectroscopic data. Especially, the absolute configurations of fructose and glucose residues in 1 and 2 were assigned by acid hydrolysis, followed by derivatization and gas chromatography (GC) analysis. Among the known compounds, (-)-hopeaphenol (3), (+)-syringaresinol (4), and quercetin (5), were isolated from B. chinensis for the first time. In addition, biological evaluation of 1 and 2 against cholesterol synthesis and metabolism at the gene level was carried out. The results showed that compounds 1 and 2 could regulate the expression of cholesterol synthesis and metabolism-associated genes, including 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A reductase (HMGCR), squalene epoxidase (SQLE), low density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR), and sortilin (SORT1) genes in HepG2 cells.