Dammarane triterpenoids with rare skeletons from Gynostemma pentaphyllum and their cytotoxic activities

Three unreported dammarane-type triterpenoids with rare skeletons (1-3), along with one undescribed gype-noside (4), were isolated from the aerial parts of Gynostemma pentaphyllum using diverse chromatographic materials and pre-HPLC. Their structures were elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic and spectrometric data, while the absolute configurations of 1-3 were assessed via electronic circular dichroism (ECD) analyses. Notably, compounds 1-3 possess a 3,19-hemiketal bridge in the A ring. Saponin 4 possesses an unreported 20,25-oxa structural moiety. Their antiproliferative effects against HepG2, MCF-7, and DU145 cell lines were screened. Compounds 1-3 displayed moderate cytotoxicity with IC50 values ranging from 13.7 +/- 0.2 to 32.0 +/- 1.7 mu M.

Automated summary

Three unreported dammarane-type triterpenoids with rare skeletons and one undescribed gypenoside were isolated from Gynostemma pentaphyllum. Their structures and configurations were determined, and their antiproliferative effects against cell lines were tested. Three compounds exhibited moderate cytotoxicity.