- 1Natural
Products and Food - Research and Analysis (NatuRA), Department of
Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium.
- 2Laboratory for Bio-organic Mass Spectrometry, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium.
Abstract
Stone
diseases present a major health problem in the Western society, since
both urinary and biliary stones occur with a relatively high prevalence
of 10-12 % and 10-20 %, respectively, and demonstrate a high recurrence
rate. At the moment treatment is mainly based on interventional
procedures, or prophylactic and dissolution therapy. However, many of
the current drugs cause severe side effects, and therefore, there is an
increasing interest in natural medicines. At the moment no registered herbal medicinal products are available for treatment of gallstones. Since an infusion of Herniaria hirsuta
L. has a proven efficacy against urolithiasis and cholelithiasis, its
phytochemical composition has been investigated. Two previously
undescribed triterpene saponins, 28-O-{[β-D-xylopyranosyl-(1 → 4)-α-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1 → 2)]-[β-D-glucopyranosyl-(1-6)]-β-D-glucopyranosyl}-medicagenic acid and 3-O-[α-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1 → 3)-β-D-glucuronopyranosyl]-28-O-{[β-D-glucopyranosyl-(1 → 3)-β-D-xylopyranosyl-(1 → 4)]-[β-D-apiofuranosyl-(1 → 3)]-α-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1 → 2)-β-D-fucopyranosyl}-medicagenic acid and three known flavonoids, quercetin-3-O-(2″-O-α-L-rhamnopyranosyl)-β-D-glucuronopyranoside, rutin, and narcissin (isorhamnetin-3-O-rutinoside),
were isolated using flash chromatography and successive
semi-preparative HPLC and were well characterized by MS and 1D and 2D
NMR spectroscopic techniques. These findings could contribute to the
development of a standardized extract that can be used in prophylaxis
and treatment of gall and kidney stones.
Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.
