ISOLATION OF TRITERPENOID SAPONINS FROM THE LEAVES OF WEIGELA X “BRISTOL RUBY”

Abstract

Weigela genus of Asparagaceae family contains 10 species which are distributed mainly in Asia region, however, there are more than 200 species which have been cultivated for many profits such as environmental beauty and medicinal use. Because of its beautiful flowering and facilating growth, W. x “Bristol ruby”, a shrub ornamental plant distributing commonly in Europe, are being planted for ornamental purpose. Previously, study on the roots of this species led to an identification of monodesmosidic oleanane-type triterpenoid saponins possessing a good cytotoxicity against a mouse colon cancer cell line (CT26). Based on chromatographical techniques, in combination with spectroscopic methods (1D and 2D NMR) and mass spectroscopy (ESI-MS in positive mode), two bidesmosidic oleanane-type triterpenoid saponins were isolated in success from the extract of the leaves of W. x “Bristol ruby”. A suggestion of further experiments was carried out on other evaluations of biological activity in order to achieve an overview on those compounds.