Saponins from the roots of Chenopodium bonus-henricus L.

Two new glycosides of phytolaccagenin and 2β-hydroxyoleanoic acid, namely bonushenricoside A (3) and bonushenricoside B (5) together with four known saponins, respectively compounds 3-O-L-α-arabinopyranosyl-bayogenin-28-O-β-glucopyranosyl ester (1), 3-O-β-glucuronopyranosyl-2β-hydroxygypsogenin-28-O-β-glucopyranosyl ester (2), 3-O-β-glucuronopyranosyl-bayogenin-28-O-β-glucopyranosyl ester (4) and 3-O-β-glucuronopyranosyl-medicagenic acid-28-β-xylopyranosyl(1→4)-α-rhamnopyranosyl(1→2)-α-arabinopyranosyl ester (6) were isolated from the roots of Chenopodium bonus-henricus L. The structures of the compounds were determined by means of spectroscopic methods (1D and 2D NMR, IR and HRMS). The MeOH extract and compounds were tested for cytotoxic activity on five leukemic cell lines (HL-60, SKW-3, Jurkat E6-1, BV-173 and K-562). In addition, the ability of metanolic extract and saponins to modulate the interleukin-2 production in PHA/PMA stimulated Jurkat E6-1 cells was investigated as well.