Abstract
ETAS® has been developed from the stems of Asparagus officinalis L. as a functional ingredient for nutraceuticals. ETAS possesses heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) induction activity and may contribute to maintenance and improvement of health. Here, 3 compounds (
The heat shock response, a highly conserved mechanism in organisms ranging from yeast to human, is induced by extreme proteotoxic insults such as heat, oxidative stress, ultraviolet radiation, heavy metals, toxins, and bacterial infection. 1,2 The heat shock response is mediated at the transcriptional level by heat shock elements (HSEs) present in the upstream region of genes encoding heat shock proteins (HSPs). Expression of an HSP is induced when a heat shock factor (HSF) binds to the HSE. Members of the HSP70 family, which represent some of the most ubiquitous molecular chaperones, are known to exert cytoprotective effects by enhancing cell viability and promoting protein damage repair. 3 Owing to their antiapoptotic and anti-inflammatory effects, HSPs are therapeutic targets; for example, geranylgeranylacetone, an inducer of HSP70, is used as antiulcer drug, 4,5 while the induction of chaperones (including HSP70) may have therapeutic application in the prevention and treatment of disorders due to protein misfolding (eg, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s disease, and cystic fibrosis). 6,7
The heat shock pathway, incorporating HSP70 and HSF-1, also has a role in regulating sleep and circadian rhythm. 8 -11 As a result, we previously developed ONR-8, a dietary supplement containing a standardized extract of Asparagus officinalis stem (ETAS®; Amino Up Co, Ltd, Sapporo, Japan), which is derived from stems of asparagus (A. officinalis L.) and has been demonstrated to have HSP70 induction activity. 12,13 Furthermore, we demonstrated that ONR-8 improves sleep and modifies social jetlag among healthy volunteers. 14,15 Ito et al 12 reported that ETAS contains 5-hydroxymethyl-2-furfural (HMF) and its derivative, (S)-asfural, as active ingredients that induce HSP70 expression. In the process of ONR-8 development, however, we identified 3 further compounds with potential HSP70-inducing activity. Here, we report the isolation and structure determination of these compounds.
Initially, ETAS powder was dissolved in water and extracted with ethyl acetate. The extract was fractionated using HPLC to yield 3 compounds (compounds
Their molecular formulae were assigned as C14H16N2O2 (compound
Spectrometric Data of Compounds 1, 2, and 3.
The NMR spectrum of compound

Key HMBC (arrows) correlations of compound 1.
In addition, the retention time of compound

Chemical structure of compounds 1, 2, and 3.
By HR-EI-MS, the elemental composition of compound
All 3 compounds contain a diketopiperazine ring derived from proline and have an alkyl group at C-3; thus, we collectively named them asparagus-derived proline-containing 3-alkyldiketopiperazines or Asparaprolines.
We evaluated the biological function of Asparaprolines in terms of their ability to induce HSP70 mRNA expression in HL-60 cells. Ito et al evaluated HSP70 mRNA induction activity of HMF at micromolar order,
12
and the molar ratio of compounds

HSP70 mRNA induction activity of Asparaprolines and HMF. HSP70 mRNA induction activity was evaluated by real-time PCR, as described in the experimental section.
To explore the structure-activity relationship, diketopiperazines, in which the proline of Asparaprolines was substituted by glycine, were tested in the assay (n = 5 or 6). Compared with the control (treated with growth medium), cyclo(
Cyclo(
In the current study, we demonstrated that Asparaprolines induce HSP70 expression. Buhr et al 8 showed that the heat shock response plays an essential role in resetting of the circadian clock due to thermal stimuli and in temperature compensation of the circadian period. We have previously shown that the dietary supplement ONR-8 containing Asparaprolines modifies social jetlag; thus, we presume that the relationship between improved social jetlag and resetting or compensation of the circadian rhythm occurs via the heat shock response.
In summary, we have identified 3 constituents, collectively termed asparagus-derived proline-containing 3-alkyldiketopiperazines or Asparaprolines, in ETAS powder. Their structures were elucidated by spectroscopic analyses, including optical rotation, HR-EI-MS, and NMR. Among the ingredients identified in ETAS powder to date, Asparaprolines were shown to be an important inducer of HSP70 in an mRNA induction assay using HL-60 cells. To our knowledge, our study is the first to indicate that the presence of proline in diketopiperazines derived from natural amino acids can affect HSP70 induction activity.
Experimental
Production of ETAS
Asparagus (A. officinalis L.) stems were collected in Hokkaido, Japan, in 2012, and the fresh stalks (900 kg) were extracted with hot water (1800 L) at 121°C for 45 minutes. The extract was cooled to 60°C and treated with cellulase and hemicellulase (0.5% w/v each) for 24 hours to avoid clogging during production. After inactivation of the enzymes (121°C, 20 minutes), the extract was separated by centrifugation, concentrated in vacuo, and mixed with dextrin (45.0 kg, Pinedex; Matsutani Chemical Industry Co, Hyogo, Japan) as a filler. The mixture was sterilized at 121°C for 45 minutes and then spray-dried to produce ETAS powder (94.0 kg; Lot #HSP1201S), consisting of 52.1% ETAS and 47.9% dextrin. Component analysis showed that the ETAS powder comprised 82.2% carbohydrates, 10.3% proteins, 3.8% ashes, 0.9% lipids, and 2.8% moisture. The powder was manufactured by Amino Up Co, Ltd, and the manufacturing process was conducted in accordance with good manufacturing practice standards for dietary supplements and ISO9001:2008 and ISO22000:2005 criteria.
Isolation of Compounds 1, 2, and 3
ETAS powder (100 g; Lot #HSP1201S) was dissolved in 500 mL of water and extracted 4 times with 500 mL of ethyl acetate. The ethyl acetate extraction procedure was repeated for 10 batches of ETAS powder, and the combined extract was evaporated to dryness under reduced pressure (18.2 g). A portion of the extract (345 mg) was subjected to preparative HPLC using an Agilent 1260 system (Agilent Technologies Inc., Santa Clara, CA, USA; Wakosil-II 5C18 [5 µm, 10 × 250 mm, Wako Pure Chemical Industries, Ltd, Osaka, Japan]; mobile phase: solvent A, 0.1% formic acid; solvent B, 0.1% formic acid in acetonitrile; 0-20 minutes, 10%-90% B; flow rate 3.5 mL/min) equipped with a Corona charged aerosol detector (CAD; Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., Waltham, MA, USA) to give a fraction (158.5 mg, t
R 8-18 minutes) containing compounds
Analytical HPLC and LC-MS
The purity of compounds
Structure Determination
Optical rotation was measured with a P-2300 polarimeter (JASCO Corporation, Tokyo, Japan). NMR spectra were recorded in CD3OD or CDCl3 with a JNM-400AL spectrometer (JEOL Ltd, Tokyo, Japan) at 400 MHz for 1H NMR and 100 MHz for 13C NMR. HR-EI-MS data were obtained by using an Agilent 6550 iFunnel Q-TOF LC/MS system (Agilent Technologies Inc.).
Cell Culture
A human promyelocytic leukemia cell line (HL-60) was obtained from ECACC (via DS Pharma Biomedical Co., Osaka, Japan), and the cells were incubated in growth medium comprising RPMI-1640 (Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc.), 10% heat-inactivated fetal bovine serum, 100 unit/mL of penicillin, and 100 µg/mL of streptomycin at 37°C in 5% CO2.
Real-Time PCR Assay for HSP70 mRNA
The real-time PCR assay was performed as described by Ito et al
12
with minor modifications. In brief, HL-60 cells were cultured in growth medium and the cell density was adjusted to 5 × 105 cells/mL by adding prewarmed growth medium. Next, 0.9 mL of cell suspension was transferred to a 1.5 mL microtube, and 0.1 mL of test sample dissolved in growth medium containing 1% (v/v) DMSO (Wako Pure Chemical Industries) was added. The final test concentration of Asparaprolines [cyclo(
RNA concentration was measured spectrophotometrically, and 300 ng of total RNA was used to synthesize cDNA by ReverTra Ace qPCR RT Master Mix with gDNA Remover (Toyobo Co., Osaka, Japan). The resulting cDNA was diluted and subjected to real-time PCR to measure the levels of HSP70 and β-2 microglobulin (B2M) mRNAs on a StepOnePlus Real-Time PCR system (Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc.) using SsoAdvanced Universal SYBR Green Supermix (Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc., Hercules, CA, USA) and the following primers: HSP70 forward, 5′-GCATTTCCTAGTATTTCTGTTTGT-3′; HPS70 reverse, 5′-AATAGTCGTAAGATGGCAGTATA-3′; B2M forward, 5′-TAGCTGTGCTCGCGCTACT-3′; B2M reverse, 5′-AGTGGGGGTGAATTCAGTGT-3′. The reaction conditions were an initial denaturation step at 95°C for 3 minutes, followed by 40 cycles of denaturation at 95°C for 10 seconds and annealing at 57.8°C for 30 seconds. Expression of the HSP70 and B2M mRNAs was evaluated by the relative standard curve method using standard RNA extracted from heat-treated HL-60 cells (42°C for 30 minutes); HSP70 mRNA data were normalized to B2M mRNA expression. Data were expressed as a stimulation index (ie, the expression levels of HSP70 mRNA were normalized by those of B2M mRNA; then, the ratio of the relative expression level of HSP70 mRNA was calculated, when the level in the control [treated with prewarmed growth medium] was set as 1). Assessment of the structure-activity relationship was performed as mentioned above using cyclo(
Statistical Analysis
The results of HSP70 induction activity were reported as mean ± S.E. (n = 4-6). SAS software (R9.3, SAS Institute Japan Ltd, Tokyo, Japan) was used for statistical analysis. Unpaired t-test was used to compare values. The level of significance was set at a P value of 0.05.
Footnotes
Acknowledgments
We are deeply grateful to Dr Kenichi Komatsu, Hokkaido Pharmaceutical University School of Pharmacy (Sapporo, Japan) for 1H and 13C NMR and optical rotation measurements.
Declaration of Conflicting Interests
The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Funding
The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
