Identification and Structural Analysis of Spirostanol Saponin from Yucca schidigera by Integrating Silica Gel Column Chromatography and Liquid Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry Analysis

• Main Authors: Jingya Ruan, Lu Qu, Wei Zhao, Chang Gao, Peijian Huang, Dandan Zheng, Lifeng Han, Haiyang Yu, Zixin Zhang, Yi Zhang, Tao Wang
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2020-08-01
• Series: Molecules
• Subjects: <i>Yucca schidigera Roezl</i> (Mojave); spirostanol saponins; chemical constituents profiling; multi-phase liquid chromatography; normal phase chromatography silica column separation; reversed phase liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry analysis
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/25/17/3848

<i>Yucca schidigera</i> Roezl (Mojave), a kind of ornamental plant belonging to the <i>Yucca</i> genus (Agavaceae), whose extract exhibits important roles in food, beverage, cosmetic and feed additives owing to its rich spirostanol saponins. To provide a comprehensive chemical profiling of the spirostanol saponins in it, this study was performed by using a multi-phase liquid chromatography method combining a reversed phase chromatography T₃ column with a normal phase chromatography silica column for the separation and an ESI-Q-Exactive-Orbitrap MS in positive ion mode as the detector. By comparing the retention time and ion fragments with standards, thirty-one spirostanol saponins were identified. In addition, according to the summary of the chromatographic retention behaviors and the MS/MS cleavage patterns and biosynthetic pathway, another seventy-nine spirostanol saponins were speculatively identified, forty ones of which were potentially new ones. Moreover, ten novel spirostanol saponins (three pairs of (25<i>R/S</i>)-spirostanol saponin isomer mixtures) were targeted for isolation to verify the speculation. Then, the comprehensive chemical profiling of spirostanol saponins from <i>Y. schidigera</i> was reported here firstly.