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Volume 30
Issue 15
10.3390/molecules30153126
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This is an early access version, the complete PDF, HTML, and XML versions will be available soon.
Article

Saponins from Oxybasis rubra (L.) S.Fuentes, Uotila & Borsh: Comparative Assessment of Cytotoxic Potential Against a Wide Panel of Cancer Cell Lines

by
Karolina Grabowska
1,
Adam Mynarski
1,
Agnieszka Galanty
1,
Dagmara Wróbel-Biedrawa
1,
Paweł Żmudzki
2,3 and
Irma Podolak
1,*
1
Chair of Pharmacognosy, Jagiellonian University Medical College, 9 Medyczna Str., 30-688 Cracow, Poland
2
Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Jagiellonian University Medical College, 9 Medyczna Str., 30-688 Cracow, Poland
3
Center for the Development of Therapies for Civilization and Age-Related Diseases, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Skawińska 8, 31-066 Krakow, Poland
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Molecules 2025, 30(15), 3126; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules30153126
Submission received: 25 June 2025 / Revised: 18 July 2025 / Accepted: 23 July 2025 / Published: 25 July 2025
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Isolation, Characterization, and Application of Anticancer Agents from Natural Products)
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Abstract

Two triterpene saponins, hederagenin glucosides, including a novel monodesmoside: 3-O-β-D-glucopyranosyl(1→3)-β-D-glucopyranosyl] hederagenin (compound 1), were isolated from the fruits of Oxybasis rubra (L.) S.Fuentes, Uotila & Borsh (Amaranthaceae). These compounds, together with hederagenin itself (compound 4) and a commercially available 28-O-β-D-glucopyranosyl hederagenin ester (compound 3), were evaluated for cytotoxicity and selectivity across a wide panel of human cancer cell lines (skin, prostate, gastrointestinal, thyroid, and lung). All four compounds exhibited dose- and time-dependent effects, with varying potency depending on the specific cancer type. The isolated bidesmosidic saponin (3-O-β-D-glucopyranosyl(1→3)-β-D-glucopyranosyl] hederagenin 28-O-β-D-glucopyranosyl ester—compound 2) showed the strongest activity and selectivity, with an IC50 = 6.52 μg/mL after 48 h incubation against WM793 melanoma, and almost no effect on normal HaCaT skin cells (IC50 = 39.94 μg/mL). Multivariate analysis of the obtained data using principal component analysis (PCA) and hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) supported the assumption that cytotoxicity is influenced by the type of compound, its concentration, and the intrinsic sensitivity of the cell line. Structure-activity observations between closely related hederagenin derivatives are also briefly presented.
Keywords: triterpene saponins; Oxybasis rubra; isolation; cytotoxicity; structure-activity observations; multivariate analysis; Amaranthaceae triterpene saponins; Oxybasis rubra; isolation; cytotoxicity; structure-activity observations; multivariate analysis; Amaranthaceae
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MDPI and ACS Style

Grabowska, K.; Mynarski, A.; Galanty, A.; Wróbel-Biedrawa, D.; Żmudzki, P.; Podolak, I. Saponins from Oxybasis rubra (L.) S.Fuentes, Uotila & Borsh: Comparative Assessment of Cytotoxic Potential Against a Wide Panel of Cancer Cell Lines. Molecules 2025, 30, 3126. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules30153126

AMA Style

Grabowska K, Mynarski A, Galanty A, Wróbel-Biedrawa D, Żmudzki P, Podolak I. Saponins from Oxybasis rubra (L.) S.Fuentes, Uotila & Borsh: Comparative Assessment of Cytotoxic Potential Against a Wide Panel of Cancer Cell Lines. Molecules. 2025; 30(15):3126. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules30153126

Chicago/Turabian Style

Grabowska, Karolina, Adam Mynarski, Agnieszka Galanty, Dagmara Wróbel-Biedrawa, Paweł Żmudzki, and Irma Podolak. 2025. "Saponins from Oxybasis rubra (L.) S.Fuentes, Uotila & Borsh: Comparative Assessment of Cytotoxic Potential Against a Wide Panel of Cancer Cell Lines" Molecules 30, no. 15: 3126. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules30153126

APA Style

Grabowska, K., Mynarski, A., Galanty, A., Wróbel-Biedrawa, D., Żmudzki, P., & Podolak, I. (2025). Saponins from Oxybasis rubra (L.) S.Fuentes, Uotila & Borsh: Comparative Assessment of Cytotoxic Potential Against a Wide Panel of Cancer Cell Lines. Molecules, 30(15), 3126. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules30153126

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