Department of Natural Medicinal Chemistry, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, 210009, Jiangsu Province, P.R. China.
Mini Rev Med Chem. 2022;22(17):2188-2212. doi: 10.2174/1389557522666220217113719.
Steroidal saponins, a class of natural products formed by the combination of spirosteranes with sugars, are widely distributed in plants and have various biological activities, such as antitumor, anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, anti-Alzheimer's, anti-oxidation, etc. Particularly, extensive research on the antitumor property of steroidal saponins has been conducted. Steroidal sapogenins, the aglycones of steroidal saponins, also have attracted much attention due to a vast range of pharmacological activities similar to steroidal saponins. In the past few years, structural modifications on the aglycones and sugar chains of steroidal saponins have been carried out and some achievements have been made. In this mini-review, the antitumor activity, action mechanisms, and structural modifications, along with the structure-activity relationships of steroidal saponins and their derivatives, are summarized.
甾体皂苷是一类由螺甾烷与糖结合而成的天然产物，广泛分布于植物中，具有多种生物活性，如抗肿瘤、抗炎、抗菌、抗阿尔茨海默病、抗氧化等。特别是甾体皂苷的抗肿瘤特性已经得到了广泛的研究。甾体皂苷元是甾体皂苷的苷元，由于具有与甾体皂苷相似的广泛的药理活性，也引起了人们的关注。在过去的几年中，人们对甾体皂苷的苷元和糖链进行了结构修饰，并取得了一些成果。本综述总结了甾体皂苷及其衍生物的抗肿瘤活性、作用机制、结构修饰以及构效关系。
