Codonopsis Lanceolata Root Chemical Composition Of Its Anti-inflammatory Activity

Codonopsis lanceolata (Sieb et Zucc) Bentham et Hooker (Campanulaceae) is a perennial, twining vine widely distributed in China and cultivated in Liaoning and Jilin. The roots of C. lanceolata have been used as a herbal drug for invigorating qi to replenish yin, moistening lung and encouraging production of body fluids, subsidence of swelling and evacuation of pus, removing toxic materials and treatment of sore in China, and as a tonic crude drug and a edible plant in Korean and Japan.Previous investigations have shown that the roots of C. lanceolata mainly contain triterpenoids, triterpenoid saponins, sterols, alkaloids. It has also been reported that this crude drug has exhibited many pharmacological activities, including analgesia, antioxidation, enhancing memory and immunity.In this study, chemical constituents of the roots of C. lanceolata and its anti-inflammatory activity were investigated.The H₂O-soluble fraction isolated from the ethanol extracts was chromatographed on macroreticular resin column and repeated silica gel columns, combined with Sephadex LH-20 and reverse phase ODS column chromatography to give five triterpenoid saponins, together with two phenylpropanoids. Their structures were elucidated by physico-chemical properties and spectral analysis. Among them, three new triterpenoid saponins were named codonoposide I (1), codonoposide II (2) and codonoposide III (3). Four known compounds were identified as eclalbasaponin XIII (4), echinocystic acid (5), methlysyringin (6) and syringin (7). Compound 4, 6 and 7 were isolated from this plant for the first time.Furthermore, the anti-inflammatory activity of a saponin-rich fraction (Fr. 4) isolated from the root ethanol extract was evaluated using the carrageenan induced rat hind paw edema, which displayed 44.53% inhibition at 3h after injecting carrageenan with 500 mg kg^-1(p.o.), P < 0.05.