A liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS) method with selected ion monitoring was developed and validated to analyze the contents of protodioscin and rutin in asparagus. The distribution of rutin and protodioscin within the shoots was found to vary by location, with the tissue closest to the rhizome found to be a rich source of protodioscin, at an average level of 0.025% tissue fresh weight in the three tested lines, while the upper youngest shoot tissue contained the highest amount of rutin at levels of 0.03-0.06% tissue fresh weight. The lower portions of the asparagus shoots that are discarded during grading and processing should instead be considered a promising source of a new value-added nutraceutical product.

Four major triterpene acids including beta-boswellic acid (1), 3-O-acetyl-beta-boswellic acid (2), 11-keto-beta-boswellic acid (3), and 3-O-acetyl-11-keto-beta-boswellic acid (4) were isolated from the gum resin of Boswellia serrata and examined for their in vitro antitumor activity. They inhibited the synthesis of DNA, RNA and protein in human leukemia HL-60 cells in a dose dependent manner with IC50 values ranging from 0.6 to 7.1 microM. Among them, compound 4 induced the most pronounced inhibitory effects on DNA, RNA and protein synthesis with IC50 values of 0.6, 0.5, and 4.1 microM, respectively. The effect of 4 on DNA synthesis was found to be irreversible. Compound 4 significantly inhibited the cellular growth of HL-60 cells, but did not affect cell viability.

Two oligofurostanosides were isolated from the seeds of Asparagus officinalis L and their structures characterized as 3-O-[alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1-->2)-(alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl- (1-->4))-beta-D-glucopyranosyl]-26-O-[beta-D-glucopyranosyl]-(25R) -22 alpha-methoxyfurost-5-ene-3 beta,26-diol(methyl protodioscin) and its corresponding 22 alpha-hydroxy analogue (protodioscin). The structural identification was performed using detailed analysis of 1H- and 13C-NMR spectra including two-dimensional NMR spectroscopy (COSY, HMQC, NOESY and HMBC), and chemical conversions. These two compounds have been shown to inhibit the growth of human leukemia HL-60 cells in culture and macromolecular synthesis in a dose-dependent manner. The inhibitory effect on DNA synthesis was found to be irreversible.

No abstract

No abstract