Phytochemicals investigation of the whole plant of Zygophyllum atriplicoides resulted in the isolation of two new triterpenoidal saponins together with a known compound. The structure of the new compounds atriplicosaponin A (1) and atriplicosaponin B (2) were established as 3-O-[α-D-glucopyranosyl-(1→2)-β-D-xylopyranosyl]hederagenin and 27α-hydroxyurs-12-ene-3-O-[β-D-glucopyranosyl(1→4)(2-O-sulpho)-β-D-quinovopyranoside] and known compound was identified as 3-O-[β-D-glucopyranosyl]-β-sitosterol. The structure elucidations of the compounds were based primarily on 1D and 2D-NMR analysis, including COSY, HMBC and HMQC correlations.

Metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) presents a significant global health challenge, characterized by the accumulation of liver fat and impacting a considerable portion of the worldwide population. Despite its widespread occurrence, effective treatments for MAFLD are limited. The liver-specific isoform of pyruvate kinase (PKL) has been identified as a promising target for developing MAFLD therapies. Urolithin C, an allosteric inhibitor of PKL, has shown potential in preliminary studies. Expanding upon this groundwork, our study delved into delineating the structure-activity relationship of urolithin C via the synthesis of sulfone-based urolithin analogs. Our results highlight that incorporating a sulfone moiety leads to substantial PKL inhibition, with additional catechol moieties further enhancing this effect. Despite modest improvements in liver cell lines, there was a significant increase in inhibition observed in HepG2 cell lysates. Specifically, compounds 15d, 9d, 15e, 18a, 12d, and 15a displayed promising IC₅₀ values ranging from 4.3 µM to 18.7 µM. Notably, compound 15e not only demonstrated a decrease in PKL activity and triacylglycerol (TAG) content but also showed efficient cellular uptake. These findings position compound 15e as a promising candidate for pharmacological MAFLD treatment, warranting further research and studies.