Codojavanosides A-C, three new sesquiterpenoid glycosides from the roots of Codonopsis javanica

Phytochemical study of the Codonopsis javanica roots led to isolation of 12 secondary metabolites, including three new sesquiterpenoid glycosides, named codojavanosides A-C (1-3) and nine known compounds, (3R,6E,10S)-2,6,10-trimethyl-3-hydroxydodeca-6,11-diene-2,10-diol (4), (E)-2-hexenyl O-β-d-glucopyranoside (5), oct-1-en-3-ol O-α-l-arabinopyranosyl-(1′′→6′)-O-β-d-glucopyranoside (6), (Z)-3-hexenyl O-α-l-arabinopyranosyl-(1→6)-β-d-glucopyranoside (7), tangshenosides I (8) and II (9), tangshenosides V (10) and VI (11), and corchoionoside C (12). Their structures were identified by comprehensive analyses of the 1D and 2D NMR and mass spectra. Evaluation of their cytotoxic effects toward three human cancer cell lines, including lung (A549), liver (HepG2), and breast (MCF7) revealed that compounds 1, 2, 4 and 11 exhibit weak cytotoxicity toward the A549 cell line, with the induction of cell death ranging from 40.8–66.4 % at the concentration of 100 μM.