Furostane Series Asterosaponins and Other Unusual Steroid Oligoglycosides from the Tropical Starfish Pentaceraster regulus

J Nat Prod. 2017 Oct 27;80(10):2761-2770. doi: 10.1021/acs.jnatprod.7b00574. Epub 2017 Oct 5.

Abstract

Seven new asterosaponins, pentaregulosides A-G (1-7), including two furostane-type steroid oligoglycosides (2, 3), along with four previously known compounds (8-11) were isolated from the ethanolic extract of the starfish Pentaceraster regulus, collected off the coast of Vietnam. The structures of 1-7 were elucidated by extensive NMR and ESIMS techniques as well as chemical transformations. The aglycons of compounds 1 and 3 have not previously been observed in starfish steroid oligoglycosides, while the aglycons of compounds 2 and 4-6 are very rare for this structural group. Compound 1 exhibited cytotoxic activity with an IC50 value of 6.4 ± 0.3 μM against RAW 264.7 murine macrophages. In contrast, nontoxic asterosaponins 3, 4, and 5 showed a potential immunomodulatory action at a concentration of 5 μM, reducing by 40%, 28%, and 55%, respectively, reactive oxygen species formation in the RAW 264.7 cells, co-stimulated with the pro-inflammatory endotoxic lipopolysaccharide from E. coli.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Cytotoxins / chemistry
  • Cytotoxins / isolation & purification*
  • Cytotoxins / pharmacology*
  • Escherichia coli
  • Glycosides / chemistry
  • Lipopolysaccharides / pharmacology
  • Macrophages / drug effects
  • Mice
  • Molecular Structure
  • Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, Biomolecular
  • Saponins / chemistry
  • Starfish / chemistry*
  • Steroids / chemistry
  • Vietnam

Substances

  • Cytotoxins
  • Glycosides
  • Lipopolysaccharides
  • Saponins
  • Steroids