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Background: The roots of Rehmannia glutinosa (RG) or Rehmanniae Radix are a well-known medicinal material in the Oriental medicine, and its phytochemical profile has been extensively studied with more than 100 individual compounds from Rehmannia species. In contrast, bioactive components of the aerial part of the title plant are largely unknown as only several compounds reported up to date. Objective: The objective was to study on chemical constituents of the aerial parts of the title plant and evaluate the aerial parts as a supplementary source for Rehmanniae radix. Materials and Methods: Solvent extraction, partition, and column chromatography was used to separate individual compounds; spectroscopic data including nuclear magnetic resonance and mass spectrometry were analyzed to determine the chemical structure of the isolates. Results: Eight compounds including five ursane-type triterpenoids for the first time from RG (ursolic acid [1], pomolic acid [2], 2β-hydroxypomolic acid [3], asiatic acid [4] and 7β,24-dihydroxy ursolic acid [5]) and three main glycosides (ajugol [6], aucubin [8], and acteoside [7]) were characterized from the aerial parts of the title plant. Their structures were identified on the basis of spectroscopic data and comparison with those reported in the literature. Conclusion: The current study reveals various ursane triterpenes in the organic portion beside the main hydrophilic glycosides in the RG aerial parts. The occurrence of various ursane triterpenes contributed in part to phytochemical database and evidence of the biological activity associated with potential in use as a medicinal material of the RG leaves.

Saffron (Crocus sativus L.) has been used both as a food additive for flavoring and coloring and in traditional medicine. Saffron extract and its main component crocin decrease the growth of several types of human cancer, including colorectal cancer in vitro. Numerous polyps develop in the small intestine in the Adenomatous polyposis coli (Apc) deficiency mice. ApcMin/+ mice are models for human familial adenomatous polyposis and human colon cancer patients. In this study, we examined the efficacy of saffron extract added to diet on reducing the polyp density in ApcMin/+ mice. ApcMin/+ mice were either given a placebo or saffron extract (0.1% and 0.5%) diet for 4 weeks. At 12 weeks of age, intestines were analyzed for polyp number in the small intestine. Our analysis confirmed that crocin (1), crocin-2 (2), and crocin-4 (4) are the major compounds in the saffron extract and the content of 1 in the tested saffron extract was 29.2%. Saffron extract decreased the number of intestinal polyps in a concentration-dependent manner in ApcMin/+ mice. Notably, the number of polyps in the distal small intestine of the mice fed with 0.5% saffron extract was significantly decreased compared with the placebo. These results indicate that saffron extract can reduce the polyp number in the ApcMin/+ mice. Abbreviations Used: FAP: Familial adenomatous polyposis; Apc: Adenomatous polyposis coli.