New triterpenoids from the Cyclocarya paliurus (Batalin) Iljinskaja and their anti-fibrotic activity

• DOI: 10.1016/j.phytochem.2022.113434
• Publication Date: 2022-09-20T01:33:40Z
• Authors: Yao Liu; Xuan-Xuan Zhang; Su-Su Xu; Si-Yang Fang; Li-Ping Zhu; Zhe Song; Xu-Lan Shang; Sheng-Zuo Fang; Ke Pan; Xiao-Long Cao; Zhi-Qi Yin

Cyclocarya paliurus, a Chinese herbal medicine and new food resource, contains a triterpenic-acid-rich extract that demonstrated ameliorative effect on diabetic nephropathy (DN). A more in-depth discovery of functional components led to the isolation of seven new triterpenoids including two pentacyclic triterpenes, 1α,2α,3β,23-tetrahydroxyolean-12-en-28-oic acid and 2α,3β,22α-tirhydroxyurs-12-en-28-oic acid 28-O-β-D-glucopyranoside, and five tetracyclic triterpenoid glycosides (cypaliurusides N-R), together with twelve known compounds from the leaves of C. paliurus. Their structures were determined using a comprehensive analysis of chemical and spectroscopic data. Partial compounds were assessed for anti-fibrotic activities in high-glucose and TGF-β1 induced HK-2 cells. Compound 16 remarkably decreased the level of fibronectin with an inhibition rate of 37.1%. Furthermore, 16 effectively alleviated the epithelial-mesenchymal transformation (EMT) process by upregulating E-cadherin expression and downregulating α-SMA expression, and it significantly decreased the level of the transcriptional inhibitors (Snail and Twist) of E-cadherin. The discovery of anti-fibrotic compounds from C. paliurus provides the potential utilization and functional candidates for the DN prevention.