Phytochemistry. 1995 Nov; 40(4): 1071-6.

Steroidal saponins from Allium chinense and their inhibitory activities on cyclic AMP phosphodiesterase and Na+/K+ ATPase.

Kuroda M, Mimaki Y, Kameyama A, Sashida Y, Nikaido T.

School of Pharmacy, Tokyo University of Pharmacy and Life Science, Japan.

The saponin fraction prepared from the methanolic extract of Allium chinense bulbs exhibited inhibitory activities on cyclic AMP phosphodiesterase (cAMP PDE) (43.5%) and Na+/K+ ATPase (59.3%) at a sample concentration of 100 micrograms ml-1, respectively. Attempted purification of the active fraction through column chromatography on silica gel and ODS silica gel resulted in the isolation of six steroidal saponins, one of which appeared to be a new compound and one to be the first isolation from a natural source. (25R,S)-5 alpha-Spirostan-3 beta-ol tetrasaccharide showed inhibitory activities on both cAMP PDE and Na+/K+ ATPase, while (25R)-3 beta-hydroxy-5 alpha-spirostan-6-one di- and tri-saccharides inhibited only cAMP PDE.