Furostanol Saponins from Asparagus cochinchinensis and Their Cytotoxicity.

Phytochemical investigation on the roots of Asparagus cochinchinensis led to the isolation of one new furostanol saponin, named 26-O-β-D-glucopyranosyl-22α-hydroxyl-(25R)-Δ-furost-3β,26-diol-3-O-α-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1 → 2)-[β-D-glucopyranosyl-(1 → 4)-α-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1 → 4)]-β-D-glucopyranoside (1), along with three known congeners (2‒4). The structure of new saponin was elucidated via comprehensive inspection of its HRMS and NMR spectral data as well as chemical technology, whereas those of known ones were identified by comparison of their NMR and MS spectral data with those reported in literatures. All isolated saponins were evaluated for their cytotoxic effects on two human liver (MHCC97H) and lung adenocarcinoma (H1299) cancer cells in vitro. Among them, both 1 and 2 showed significant cytotoxicity against above mentioned cell lines. Further studies revealed that these two saponins could significantly inhibit their proliferation of MHCC97H and H1299 cells.