Bioactive spirostane glycosides from Tacca plantaginea

Area of Science:

• Natural Products Chemistry
• Pharmacognosy
• Medicinal Chemistry

Background:

• Tacca plantaginea is a plant source of bioactive compounds.
• Spirostanoid glycosides are a class of natural products with diverse biological activities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To isolate and characterize new spirostane glycosides from Tacca plantaginea.
• To evaluate the cytotoxic and platelet aggregation activities of these compounds.

Main Methods:

• Isolation of compounds using chromatographic techniques.
• Structure elucidation via spectroscopic methods (MS, 1D and 2D NMR) and chemical analysis.
• In vitro cytotoxicity assays against HEK293 and HepG2 cell lines.
• Platelet aggregation assays for selected compounds.

Main Results:

• Eight new spirostane glycosides (taccaosides E-L) and seven known analogs were isolated.
• Compound 1 exhibited potent cytotoxicity against both tested cancer cell lines (IC50 values 1.7 μM and 1.2 μM).
• Spirostanoid glycosides with a 17α-hydroxyl group were assessed for platelet aggregation activity.

Conclusions:

• Tacca plantaginea is a rich source of structurally diverse spirostane glycosides.
• Compound 1 represents a promising lead for further investigation as an anticancer agent.
• The study contributes to understanding the structure-activity relationships of spirostane glycosides.