Objective To investigate the chemical constituents of Euonymus alatus. Methods Separation and purification were performed using normal- and reversed-phase silica gel, Sephadex LH-20, and high-performance liquid chromatography. The structures of the obtained compounds were identified using NMR, MS, and X-Ray techniques. The protective effect of the compound against podocyte injury was evaluated using the CCK-8 assay. Results Six compounds were isolated and purified from the dichloromethane fraction of the 95% ethanol extract of E. alatus, namely 3β-hydroxy-24-norhopa-4(23) (1), acetyl ursolic acid (2), betulinic acid (3), foliasalaci A4 (4), betulonicacid (5), and ursolic acid lactone (6). Moreover, compound 1 has a significant protective effect against MPC5 cell damage induced by advanced glycation end-products (AGEs). Conclusion Compound 1 is a new compound, named 2,4-dehydrowhite birch resinol. All the other compounds were isolated from this plant and plants of the same genus. Compound 1 exhibits anti-podocyte injury activity in a concentration-dependent manner.

Epimedium alatus (Thunb.) Siebold  /  triterpenoid  /  betulin  /  podocytes  /  MPC5 cells  /  2,4-dehydrowhite birch resinol  /  acetyl ursolic acid  /  betulonicacid