Identification and quantification of oleanane triterpenoid saponins and potential analgesic and anti-inflammatory activities from the roots and rhizomes of Panax stipuleanatus

Panax stipuleanatus represents a folk medicine for treatment of inflammation. However, lack of experimental data does not confirm its function. This article aims to investigate the analgesic and anti-inflammatory activities of triterpenoid saponins isolated from P. stipuleanatus.

This study provides important basic information about utilization of P. stipuleanatus resources for production of active triterpenoid saponins.

The chemical characterization of P. stipuleanatus allowed the identification and quantitation of two major compounds. Analgesic effects of triterpenoid saponins were evaluated in two models of thermal- and chemical-stimulated acute pain. Anti-inflammatory effects of triterpenoid saponins were also evaluated using four models of acetic acid-induced vascular permeability, xylene-induced ear edema, carrageenan-induced paw edema, and cotton pellet-induced granuloma in mice.

Two triterpenoid saponins of stipuleanosides R1 (SP-R1) and R2 (SP-R2) were isolated and identified from P. stipuleanatus. The results showed that SP-R1 and SP-R2 significantly increased the latency time to thermal pain in the hot plate test and reduced the writhing response in the acetic acid-induced writhing test. SP-R1 and SP-R2 caused a significant decrease in vascular permeability, ear edema, paw edema, and granuloma formation in inflammatory models. Further studies showed that the levels of inflammatory mediators, nitric oxide, malondialdehyde, tumor necrosis factor-α, and interleukin 6 in paw tissues were downregulated by SP-R1 and SP-R2. In addition, the rational harvest of three- to five-year-old P. stipuleanatus was preferable to obtain a higher level of triterpenoid saponins. SP-R2 showed the highest content in P. stipuleanatus, which had potential as a chemical marker for quality control of P. stipuleanatus.