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A new triterpenoid from Panax ginseng exhibits cytotoxicity through p53 and the caspase signaling pathway in the HepG2 cell line.

Huang J, Tang XH, Ikejima T, Sun XJ, Wang XB, Xi RG, Wu LJ

Department of Phytochemistry, Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, 49#, 103 Wenhua Road, Shenyang, 110016, P. R. China.

A new triterpenoid, 20(R),22(xi),24(S)-dammar-25(26)-ene-3beta,6alpha,12beta,20,22,24-hexanol (1), and three known triterpenoids, beta-D-glucopyranoside,(3beta,12beta)-12,20-dihydroxydammar-24-en-3-yl,6-acetate (2), 20(R)-ginsenoside Rg(3) (3), and 20(R)-ginsenoside Rh(2) (4), were isolated from the leaves of Panax ginseng. Their structures were determined by chemical analysis and spectral methods (IR, 1D and 2D NMR, HR-ESI-MS). Compounds 1-4 were exhibited various degrees of cytotoxicity in the human hepatoma cell line, HepG2. Compound 1 had the highest cytotoxic potency, with an IC(50) value of 20.1 muM, by stimulating p53-mediated cell cycle arrest at the G1 to S phase transition, leading to apoptosis via activation of the caspase signaling pathway.

Published 14 April 2008 in Arch Pharm Res, 31(3): 323-9.
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