Triterpenoid saponins from the roots of Clematis argentilucida.

Reinvestigation of the n-BuOH extract of the roots of Clematis argentilucida led to the isolation of a new ursane-type triterpenoid saponin 1 and a new taraxerane-type saponin 2, four known saponins 3-6 first isolated from the species, together with seven saponins 7-13 reported in the previous papers. The structures of saponins 1-6 were elucidated by extensive spectroscopic analysis and chemical evidences. The ursane-type and taraxerane-type triterpenoid saponins were obtained from genus Clematis for the first time, and the aglycone of saponin 1, 3β,28-dihydroxy-18αH-ursan-20-en was first encountered. The cytotoxicity of all the saponins was evaluated against human glioblastoma U251MG cell lines. The monodesmosidic saponins 1, 2 and 4-8 exhibited cytotoxic activity against the cells with IC50 values ranging from 6.95 to 38.51 μM.