An Autophagy Inducing Triterpene Saponin Derived from Aster koraiensis

Autophagy is an important self-degradative mechanism that plays a key role in treating neurodegeneration diseases. This research aimed at discovering bioactive compounds from Aster koraiensis. A new triterpene saponin, astersaponin I (1), was isolated from the EtOH extract of A. koraiensis. The structure of 1 was characterized by spectroscopic methods, ECD calculation, and acid hydrolysis. The biochemical analysis showed that compound 1 significantly increased the expression of microtubule-associated protein 1A/1B light chain 3B (LC3-II) expression in SH-SY5Y cells, which indicates the induction of autophagy. Thus, further study may be needed to clarify whether compound 1 exerts beneficial effects on neurodegeneration diseases like Parkinson's disease through autophagy induction.