Targeted isolation of barrigenol-like triterpenoids from the husks of Xanthoceras sorbifolia Bunge based on feature-based molecular networking and their antitumor activities.

The husks of Xanthoceras sorbifolia Bunge have gradually attracted widespread attention in recent years due to the abundant resources and ideal pharmacological activities, with barrigenol-like triterpenoid saponins being its biological constituents. In this study, a feature-based molecular networking (FBMN) was utilized to perform the targeted isolation of triterpenoids. As a result, six undescribed barrigenol-type saponins (1-6) along with fourteen known analogues (7-22) were isolated from the extract of X. sorbifolia husk. Their structures were determined through a comprehensive analysis of NMR and HRMS spectroscopic data. Among them, compounds 1-3 are a specific type of saponin featuring a fucose moiety attached at C-21. The antitumor activities of isolated compounds were evaluated and compounds 7, 9 and 10 showed significant inhibitory activities against A549 and HepG2 cell lines in a dose-dependent manner.