Geographical variations of triterpenoid contents in Cyclocarya paliurus leaves and their inhibitory effects on HeLa cells

Abstract This research investigated the variations of triterpenoid contents in Cyclocarya paliurus leaves and their underlying anticancer activity and mechanism. Leaf samples were collected from twelve geographical locations in China for the experiments. Significant variation in the triterpenoid content and growth inhibition on HeLa cells were observed among the C. paliurus populations. Antiproliferation effects of the leaf samples were significantly affected by the pentacyclic triterpenoids contents except for oleanolic acid. Among the pentacyclic triterpenoids, hederagenin exhibited the best anticancer activity with IC50 of 17.42 μg/mL. Based on the results, pentacyclic triterpenoids may induce HeLa cell apoptosis via mitochondrial pathway. RNA sequencing indicated that the ACTB, ATF4, TUBA1B and TUBA1C genes might be the key ones involved in the apoptosis induction by cyclocaric acid B and hederagenin. These results provided useful information for application of C. paliurus in functional beverage and pharmaceutical industries.