Steroidal saponins of Costus speciosus

The structures of the saponins B and C have been established as gracillin and dioscin respectively. This is the first report of the occurrence of these     

Structure-activity relationships of the saponins dioscin and dioscinin

Hemolytic and antifungal activities of partial acid hydrolysates of dioscin and dioscinin were compared. In general, these activities were proportional to the number of sugar residues and those derivatives having branched sugar chains showed higher activities than those with straight chains. The 17-hydroxyl group of the dioscinin derivatives reduced both biological activities.     

抗重楼皂苷类化合物溶血作用的研究

本研究以分离纯化所获得重楼总皂苷、偏诺皂苷(PSs)和薯蓣皂苷(Ds)为材料,用分光光度法测定样品对兔血红细胞的溶血度,探讨不同抗溶血剂对重楼皂苷类化合物溶血作用的影响。当Ds浓度大于75μg.mL-1时溶血率>5%,而重楼总皂苷和PSs浓度大于50μg.mL-1时溶血率>5%;在抗溶血剂存在的情况下,重楼皂苷类化合物的溶血作用被不同程度抑制,且表现为维生素E﹥甘露醇﹥葡萄糖。重楼皂苷中主要产生溶血作用的化合物为偏诺皂苷类化合物,而加入抗溶血剂维生素E对重楼皂苷类化合物的溶血作用具有良好的抑制效果。本实验提示添加抗溶血剂使重楼活性成分运用于静脉注射剂型具有一定的可能性。     

盾叶薯蓣实生苗根状茎的形态发生及薯蓣皂甙积累的研究

对盾叶薯蓣实生苗根状茎的形态发生、发育过程及薯蓣皂甙积累与分布进行了研究。种子萌动后,节部膨大形成球状体,其直径约1．5cm。其胚芽生长锥先后形成4个突起,分别发育形成芽的原分生组织。按其出现的先后分别称为第1芽、第2芽、第3芽和第4芽。第1芽呈剑指形,以后发育为地上缠绕茎,其余3个芽呈丘状突起都分别发育为地下根状茎。有的芽的原分生组织以后还可以形成2个芽的原分生组织,从而使根状茎形成分枝。根状茎顶端的原分生组织由鳞片包被,顶端下方的原表皮内存在初生增厚分生组织。初生增厚分生组织细胞不断向内分裂和其衍生细胞的体积增大,是根状茎能迅速增粗的主要原因。分化完成的根状茎由周皮、基本组织和散生的维管束构成。经组织化学测定,根状茎中薯蓣皂甙主要存在于基本组织的薄壁细胞中,呈液滴状。原分生组织不含薯蓣皂甙,近顶端的基本分生组织细胞内不形成含薯蓣皂甙的液滴。其中,有小型维管束分布的基本组织中薯蓣皂甙的积累与分布最丰富,两年生根状茎中薯蓣皂甙的含量比一年生的高。     

超声波辅助薯蓣总皂苷苷键裂解工艺研究

研究了超声波辅助穿山龙薯蓣总皂苷苷键裂解的工艺条件。以薯蓣总皂苷的降解率和皂苷元的收率为考察指标,探讨了超声波影响薯蓣总皂苷苷键裂解的因素,并与常规的酸解法进行比较。得出超声波辅助薯蓣总皂苷苷键裂解的单因素优化条件:当薯蓣总皂苷的浓度固定时(1×10-2g/mL),乙醇溶液作为溶剂优于水,其最佳浓度为75%,用功率为800W超声波处理总皂苷的乙醇溶液120min效果较好。实验结果表明,与常规的酸解法相比,超声波辅助降解法具有时间短、能耗低、无污染等优点。     

薯蓣皂苷对大鼠心肌收缩与钠-钙交换体的影响

目的：观察薯蓣皂苷（Dio）对大鼠心肌收缩作用以及胞内Ca²⁺浓度的影响,并初步探讨其作用机制与Na⁺-Ca²⁺交换体（NCX）的关系。方法：采用Langendorff逆行主动脉灌流法对大鼠离体心脏进行灌流,利用压力感受器插管法测定左心室相关心功能参数,记录及其在应用NCX选择性抑制剂SEA0400情况下对左心室收缩压（LVSP）、左心室舒张末期压（LVEDP）、左心室内压最大上升/下降速率（±dp/dt_max）以及心率（HR）的影响;利用激光共聚焦显微观察薯蓣皂苷及SEA0400对大鼠心肌细胞H9c2细胞内Ca²⁺浓度的影响。结果：离体心脏灌流结果显示,1 μmol/L Dio可显著增加LVSP,增加约19.7%（P<0.01）;增加左室内压最大上升速率（+dp/dt_max）,增加约9.6%;激光共聚焦测定Ca²⁺荧光强度实验结果显示：1 μmol/L Dio可使H9c2细胞中Ca²⁺相对荧光强度增加（P<0.01）;而在SEA0400存在的情况下,1 μmol/L的Dio使细胞内Ca²⁺相对荧光强度变为（17.09±0.63）,给予Dio后差异有显著性（P<0.01）。在细胞液中无Ca²⁺或无Na⁺时,给予1 μmol/L的Dio使Ca²⁺相对荧光强度减小,与给予1 μmol/L的Dio差异有显著性（P<0.01）。结论：Dio可增加左心室收缩压和最大上升速率,表现正性肌力作用;Dio可使细胞内Ca²⁺浓度增加,其作用机制与增加Na⁺内流,促进NCX反向转运有关。     

Dioscin elicits anti‐tumour immunity by inhibiting macrophage M2 polarization via JNK and STAT3 pathways in lung cancer

Tumour‐associated macrophage (TAM) is an important component in tumour microenvironment. Generally, TAM exhibits the function of M2‐like macrophage, which was closely related to angiogenesis and tumour progression. Dioscin, a natural steroidal saponin, has shown its powerful anti‐tumour activity recently. However, the mechanism of dioscin involved in immune regulation is still obscure. Here, we observed dioscin induced macrophage M2‐to‐M1 phenotype transition in vitro and inhibited IL‐10 secretion. Meanwhile, the phagocytosis of macrophages was enhanced. In subcutaneous lung tumour models, dioscin inhibited the augmentation of M2 macrophage populations. Furthermore, dioscin down‐regulated STAT3 and JNK signalling pathways in macrophages in vitro. In BMDMs, activating JNK and inhibiting STAT3 induce macrophages to M1 polarization while inhibiting JNK and activating STAT3 to M2 polarization. Additionally, condition mediums from dioscin‐pre‐treated macrophages inhibited the migration of 3LL cells and the tube‐formation capacity of HUVECs. What's more, dioscin‐mediated macrophage polarization inhibited the in vivo metastasis of 3LL cells. In conclusion, dioscin may act as a new anti‐tumour agent by inhibiting TAMs via JNK and STAT3 pathways in lung cancer.     

Dioscin inhibits the growth of human osteosarcoma by inducing G2/M-phase arrest,apoptosis, and GSDME-dependent cell death in vitro and in vivo

Pyroptosis is a form of programmed cell death (PCD) that plays a vital role in immunity and diseases. Although it was recently reported that chemotherapy drugs can induce pyroptosis through caspase-3-dependent cleavage of gasdermin E (GSDME), the role of pyroptosis in osteosarcoma (OS) with dioscin is less understood. In this study, we explored the effects of dioscin on OS in vitro and in vivo and further elucidated the underlying molecular mechanisms and found that dioscin-triggered pyroptosis in GSDME-dependent cell death and that GSDME-N was generated by caspase-3. Furthermore, dioscin inhibited cancer cell growth by inducing G2/M arrest and apoptosis through the JNK/p38 pathway. In vivo, dioscin significantly inhibited OS proliferation. Taken together, our results demonstrate that dioscin can induce apoptosis through the JNK/p38 pathway and GSDME-dependent pyroptosis in OS, identifying it as a potential therapeutic drug for treatment of this disease.