Cytotoxic and Hypoglycemic Activity of Triterpenoid Saponins from Camellia oleifera Abel. Seed Pomace

One new and three known triterpenoid saponins were isolated and identified fromCamellia oleiferaseeds through IR, NMR, HR-ESI-MS and GC-MS spectroscopic methods, namely oleiferasaponin A3, oleiferasaponin A1, camelliasaponin B1, and camelliasaponin B2. The structure of oleiferasaponin A3was elucidated as 16α-hydroxy-21β-O-angeloyl-22α-O-cinnamoyl-23α-aldehyde-28-dihydroxymethylene-olean-12-ene-3β-O-[β-d-galactopyranosyl-(1→2)]-[β-d-xylopyranosyl-(1→2)-β-d-galactopyranosyl-(1→3)]-β-d-gluco-pyranosiduronic acid. Camelliasaponin B1and camelliasaponin B2exhibited potent cytotoxic activity on three human tumour cell lines (human lung tumour cells (A549), human liver tumour cells (HepG2), cervical tumour cells (Hela)). The hypoglycemic activity of oleiferasaponin A1was testified by protecting pancreatic β-cell lines from high-glucose damage.Keywords:Camellia oleifera;triterpenoid saponin;oleiferasaponin A3;cytotoxic activity;hypoglycemic activity