Ilex cornuta (I. cornuta) is a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) that has been used in clinical practice for hundreds of years. In order to provide more information about the chemical basis of its pharmacological effects, phytochemical investigation on the roots of I. cornuta was conducted in this study. The roots of the plant were firstly extracted with 95% EtOH, and then the crude was partitioned with petroleum ether, EtOAc and n-butyl alcohol. Different chromatographies were employed to isolate the crude step by step and the crude was further purified by semipreparative high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). As a result, two new triterpenoid saponins (1, 2), together with 12 known compounds (3-14), were isolated from the roots of I. cornuta. Their structures were determined based on nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), mass spectrum (MS) technologies, chemical reactions as well as gas chromatography (GC). Compounds 4, 6, 8, 11, 12 and 13 were isolated from this genus for the first time. The structures of compounds 1 and 2 were determined as 3β-O-α-D-xylopyranosyl-(1→3)-α-L-2-O-acetylarabinopyranosyl-(1→2)-β-D glucopyranosyl-23-hydroxyl-20α(H)-urs-12-en-28-oic acid 28-O-β-D-glucopyranosyl ester (1) and 3β-O-α-D-xylopyranosly-(1→3)-α-L-2-O-acetylarabinopyranosyl-(1→2)-β-Dglucopyranosyl- 19α,23-dihydroxyl-20α(H)-urs-12-en-28-oic acid 28-O-β-D-glucopyranosyl ester (2).
Keywords: Ilex cornuta; aquifoliaceae; triterpenoids.