Two new noroleanane-type triterpene saponins from the methanol extract of Salicornia herbacea

• Two new noroleanane-type triterpene saponins have been isolated from S. herbacea.
• The first reported isolation of several different compounds from S. herbacea.
• These two new compounds, Salbige A and B, showed potent antiproliferative activities.
• Pheophorbide a showed powerful antiproliferative activities.
• The phytochemicals in S. herbacea work in synergy for its antiproliferative activity.

Two new noroleanane-type triterpene saponins, Salbige A (1) and Salbige B (2), have been isolated from the aerial parts of Salicornia herbacea together with five other known compounds, including echinocystic acid (3), gypsogenin (4), pheophorbide a (5), (132S)-hydroxy-pheophorbide a (6) and (132S)-hydro-pheophorbide-lactone a (7). The chemical structures of these compounds were elucidated by extensive spectroscopic analysis and on the basis of their chemical reactivity. This work represents the first recorded example of the isolation of these compounds from S. herbacea. Compounds 1 and 2 exhibited potent antiproliferative activities and high levels of selectivity towards A549 cancer cells, with IC50 values of 52.35 and 79.39 μM, respectively, whereas compound 5 showed high levels of inhibitory activity against A549 and HepG2 cancer cells with IC50 values of 6.15 and 17.56 μM, respectively. None of these compounds exhibited antioxidant activities except for compound 7, which showed weak antioxidant activity.