Protective effect and mechanism of triterpenoids isolated from Cornus walteri against anticancer drug-induced nephrotoxicity in LLC-PK1 cells

Cornus walteri Wanger (Cornaceae) is a deciduous shrub distributed in valley areas of Asia, and its fruits and leaves have been used in Chinese folk medicine for treatment of inflammation of the skin or boils caused by lacquer poison [1]. In our search for bioactive constituents from Korean medicinal plants, a phytochemical investigation of the MeOH extract of the stems and stem bark of C. walteri resulted in identifying twelve major triterpenoids (1 – 12). Compounds 1 – 4 ameliorated cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity to 80% of the control value at 125 µM. Phosphorylation of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) was decreased following cisplatin treatment after treatment with compounds 1 – 4. These results show that blocking the MAPKs signaling cascade plays a critical role in mediating the renoprotective effect of the isolated compounds 1 – 4 from the stems and stem bark of C. walteri.

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[1] Choi WH, Park WY, Hwang BY, Oh GJ, Kang SJ, Lee KS, Ro JS. Phenolic compounds from the stem bark of Cornus walteri Wanger. Kor J Pharmacogn 1998; 29: 217 – 224.