NON-SAPONIN COMPOUNDS FROM THE LEAVES OF PANAX VIETNAMENSIS HA ET GRUSHV. (VIETNAMESE GINSENG)

Panax vietnamensis Ha et Grushv., also known as Vietnamese ginseng, is a wild Panax species belonging to the Araliaceae family. The plant was discovered in the Ngoc Linh mountain of Vietnam in 1973 and has since been used as an indigenous medicinal plant. The plant is commonly used as a tonic to enhance physical strength and aid recovery. Vietnamese ginseng has also been traditionally used to treat a range of health conditions, including fatigue, hepatitis, diabetes, toxic effects, and psychological stress.
A phytochemical investigation was conducted on the ethyl acetate and methanol extracts derived from the leaves of P.vietnamensis. Subsequent isolation techniques yielded six compounds, 4-hydroxybenzoic acid (1), p-coumaric acid (2), 5-(hydroxymethyl)furan-2-carbaldehyde (3), 5,5′-(oxydimethylene)-di-2-furaldehyde (4), L-uridine (5), and methyl-α-D-fructofuranoside (6), whose chemical structures were ascertained through a comprehensive analysis employing physicochemical spectral methods, notably Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR). These compounds were then evaluated for their inhibitory effects on α-glucosidase activity. Results indicated four active compounds with IC50 values ranging from 30.0 to 145.0 µM. Among them, compounds 1 and 5 exhibited notable inhibitory activities, with IC50 values of 30.2 and 63.9 µM, respectively. These values were notably lower than the positive control, acarbose (IC50 138.2 µM). It's the first time that compounds 1-6 have been discovered and identified in P.vietnamensis.