Spirostane saponins with a rearranged A/B ring system isolated from the rhizomes of Ophiopogon japonicus.

Abstract In this study, the popular food and medicinal herb Ophiopogon japonicus was investigated alongside a 70% ethanol extract of its rhizomes, revealing twenty-three steroidal glycosides with four undescribed steroidal saponins, named ophiopogonols A–D. Among them, ophiopogonols A–B are two unusual spirostanols with a rearranged A/B ring system (5/7/6/5/5/6 ring system) that have not previously been identified in plants. The chemical structures of all isolated steroidal glycosides were elucidated by comprehensive analysis through chemical methods, HRESIMS, and NMR spectroscopy. Further, putative biosynthetic pathways for ophiopogonols A–B were proposed. In addition, based on traditional applications of O. japonicus, cytotoxic effects of the isolates were evaluated using human large cell lung carcinoma cells (NCI–H460 cells). Sprengerinin C displayed a remarkable cytotoxic effect with IC50 values of 2.1 ± 0.8 μM by inducing apoptosis and G2/M phase cycle arrest in the NCI–H460 cell line.