Steroidal saponins from Allium chinense and their inhibitory effects on pancreatic lipase

Allium chinense G.Don is an important medicinal and edible homologous plant and indigenous to China and grown in other countries. Phytochemical studies have shown that it is rich in biologically active natural products. Herein, five new and twelve known steroidal saponins were isolated from the bulbs of Allium chinense G.Don. These compounds were structurally determined by analysis of their NMR, IR and HR-ESI-MS data. All isolates were evaluated for inhibition of porcine pancreatic lipase activity. Compounds 4, 7 and 10 exhibited potent inhibition of porcine pancreatic lipase. The relationship between structure and activity of these compounds is also investigated in this paper.