A new triterpene diglycoside from the roots of Bupleurum chinense DC. and its inhibitory effect on adipogensis in 3T3-L1 cells

A new triterpene diglycoside, tibesaikosaponin V (TKV), was isolated from the methanol extract of the roots of Bupleurum chinense DC. by normal and reversed phase column chromatography. The chemical structure of this new compound was elucidated based on extensive spectroscopic analysis, including 1D and 2D NMR, HR-ESI-MS, and chemical degradation method. Our results indicated that TKV inhibited lipid accumulation and triacylglycerol content occurred without cytotoxicity to 3T3-L1 adipocytes. Furthermore, TKV significantly suppressed the mRNA expression of nuclear transcription factors such as, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ) and CCAAT/enhancer binding protein α (C/EBPα). These results suggest that TKV shows the ability to inhibit 3T3-L1 preadipocyte differentiation of and may have therapeutic potential for obesity and its associated metabolic disorders.