Research On The Chemical Constituents And Biological Activities Of Smilax Bockii Warb.

Smilax bockii Warb. (Liliaceae) is widely distributed in the south and the west ofChina and has been used as a folk herb to treat rheumatoid arthritis and womanailments.From the 70% ethanol extract of the roots of S. bockii Warb., 40 compounds wereisolated using chromatographic methods such as silica gel c.c., PTLC, Sephadex LH-20,polyamide c.c., HPLC etc. On the basis of IR, NMR, MS data and physico-chemicalevidences, the structures of the 40 compounds were identified as following: dioscin (1),methyl protodioscin (2), methyl proto-pb (3), 3β-hydroxypregna-5, 16-dien-20-one-3-O-α-L-rhamnopyranosyl(1→2)-[α-L-rhamnopyranosyl(1→4)]-β-D-glucopyranoside(4), 3β-hydroxypregna-5, 16-dien-20-one-3-O-α-L-rhamnopyranosyl(1→4)-α-L-rhamnopyranosyl(1→4)-[α-L-rhamnopyranosyl(1→2)]-β-D-glucopyranoside (5),kaempferol (6), kaempferol-7-O-α-L-rhamnoside (7), kaempferol-7-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (8), quercetin (9), quercitrin (10), rutin (11), isorhamnetin (12),isorhamnetin-3-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (13), isorhamnetin-3-O-α-L-rhamnopyranosyl(1→6)-β-D-glucopyranoside (14), dihydrokaempferol (15), engeletin (16), isoengeletin(17), 2-hydroxynaringenin-7-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (18), (—)-isolariciresinol 9'-carboxylic acid methyl ester (19), 7-hydroxymethyl-1, 4, 5-trihydroxynaphthalene-4-O-β-D-xylopyranosyl(1→6)-β-D-glucopyranoside (20), 3, 4-dihydroxyl-β-phenethanol-3-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (21), 1, 4-dihydroxy-2, 6-dimethoxyphenyl-4-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (22), arbutin (23), chlorogenic acid (24), chlorogenic acid methylester (25), chlorogenic acid n-butyl ester (26), caffeic acid (27), caffeic acid n-butylester (28), 5-O-p-coumaroyl quinic acid methyl ester (29), 4-hydroxybenzoic acid (30),isovanillic acid (31), protocatechuic acid (32), 3, 5-dimethoxy-4-hydroxy benzonic acid(33), n-butyl-β-D-fructopyranoside (34), n-butyl-a-D-fructofuranoside (35),hydroquinone (36), myoinositol (37), (3R)-dihydro-3-hydroxy-4, 4-dimethyl-2(3H)-furanone (38),β-sitosterol (39), daucosterol (40).Among them, compounds 19, 20 were new compounds; compound 5 was a newnatural product; compounds 6-8, 10, 12-14, 18, 19, 22, 24-33, 36-38 were isolated from the genus Smilax for the first time.We preliminarily screened the activities of S. bockii Warb. by different pharmaco-models, such as anti-inflammation, anti-dementia and antioxidation.The result of anti-inflammatory experiment in vitro using the SEAP assay showedthat the 70% ethanol extract of the roots of S. bockii Warb. suppressed the NF-κBactivation suggesting the extract has anti-inflammatory activity. The active part shouldbe the n-BuOH fraction. The crude extract and fractions, along with several majorcompounds were examined for their effects on the NGF-mediated neurite outgrowthfrom PC12D cells. The results indicated that the crude exact and fractions did notpossess any potential anti-dementia activities; The antioxidant experiment usingSOD-like method was tested and some flavonoids gave promising antioxidant activity.The treatment of Alzheimer's disease with nerve growth factor (NGF) and thenatural products with NGF-potentiating activity were reviewed based on the previousresearch.