Two New Steroidal Saponins with Potential Anti-Inflammatory Effects from the Aerial Parts of Gnetum formosum Markgr

• Published in: Plants (Basel) Vol. 13; no. 15; p. 2100
• Main Authors: Hieu, Ngo Van, Vinh, Le Ba, Phong, Nguyen Viet, Cong, Pham Van, Dat, Nguyen Tien, Dan, Nguyen Van, Duc, Ngo Viet, Tao, Hoang Minh, Tam, Le Thi, Anh, Le Tuan, Cuong, Nguyen Cao, Tai, Bui Huu, Yang, Seo Young, Tuan Anh, Hoang Le
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 01-08-2024
• Subjects: anti-inflammatory; Anti-inflammatory diet; Anti-inflammatory drugs; Carbon; Chemical compounds; Constituents; Cyclooxygenase-2; Dexamethasone; Gnetum formosum Markgr; gnetumoside A; gnetumoside B; Inflammation; Ionization; Lipopolysaccharides; Macrophages; Mass spectrometry; Mass spectroscopy; Medical research; Molecular docking; Molecular dynamics; Natural products; Nitric oxide; Nitric-oxide synthase; NMR; Nuclear magnetic resonance; Pharmacology; Proteins; Research methodology; Resveratrol; Saponins; steroidal saponin; Steroids; Vietnam; anti-inflammatory; steroidal saponin; Gnetum formosum Markgr; gnetumoside A; gnetumoside B
• ISSN: 2223-7747; 2223-7747
• DOI: 10.3390/plants13152100

Markgr., a member of the Gnetaceae family, is distributed in Vietnam. This plant remains a botanical enigma with an unexplored diversity of chemical constituents and pharmacological effects. In this study, two new steroidal saponins, namely gnetumosides A (
) and B (
), were isolated from the aerial parts of
. Their chemical structures were elucidated using spectroscopic techniques, including high-resolution electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (HR-ESI-MS) and NMR, along with chemical hydrolysis and comparison with the reported literature. The potential anti-inflammatory effects of the isolated compounds were evaluated by measuring lipopolysaccharide-stimulated nitric oxide (NO) production in murine macrophage cells. Notably, compound
exhibited the most potent inhibitory activity (IC
= 14.10 ± 0.75 µM), comparable to dexamethasone. Additionally, the mechanisms underlying the observed anti-inflammatory effects were investigated through molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulations on inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) proteins. This study is the first to investigate the chemical constituents and pharmacological effects of
.