Aesculus Chinensis Research Articles

Susceptibility of Different Aesculus Species to the Horse Chestnut Leaf Miner Moth: Chemical Composition and Morphological Features of Leaves

The susceptibility of seven species of chestnuts to the horse chestnut leaf miner was studied in the arboretum of the Main Botanical Garden of the Russian Academy of Sciences (MBG RAS), taking into account their interspecific characteristics. Using pheromone delta traps, the highest number of Cameraria ohridella moths was shown for Aesculus hippocastanum and the lowest for Aesculus chinensis. A number of anatomical parameters of leaves were investigated, such as the thickness of the epidermal cell wall and the thickness of the palisade and spongy parenchyma layers. As a result, it was shown that the most infected chestnut species had a greater thickness of the nutritious parenchyma tissue. No dependence was found between the degree of susceptibility to the horse chestnut leaf miner and such indicators as the content of chlorophyll a + b and carotenoids in the leaves of seven species of chestnuts. Nevertheless, resistance of different species of the genus Aesculus to Cameraria ohridella under increased tannin content in leaves has been shown. Evaluation of phenolic compounds and flavonoids has not established their reliable role as repellents. The high levels of carbohydrates found during the study contributed to increased susceptibility to the horse chestnut leaf miner.

EST-SSR marker development based on de novo transcriptomic assembly of Aesculus chinensis Bunge

EST-SSR marker development based on de novo transcriptomic assembly of Aesculus chinensis Bunge

Antihyperglycemic effects of triterpenoid saponins from the seeds of Aesculus chinensis Bge

Six undescribed triterpenoid saponins, namely aescuchinosides A-F, along with seven known triterpenoid saponins, were isolated from the seeds of Aesculus chinensis. Barrigenol-like triterpenoids (BATs) constitute these saponins. Protoaescigenin serves as their aglycone, with various oxygen-containing groups, including acetyl, isobutyryl, tigloyl, and angeloyl groups situated at C-21, C-22, and C-28. Various techniques, including 1D and 2D-NMR spectroscopy, high-resolution mass spectrometry, and acid hydrolysis, were employed to determine the structures of these compounds. The antihyperglycemic effects of the isolated compounds were examined in insulin -resistant HepG2 cells induced by palmitic acid treatment. At a concentration of 6 μM, aesculinoside F exhibited a significant increase in glucose consumption. In addition, aesculinoside F demonstrated the potential to improve insulin resistant by upregulating the PI3K/AKT pathway. These results indicate that the seeds ofA.chinensis hold promising potential for preventing insulin resistant related disease.

Characterization of the horse chestnut genome reveals the evolution of aescin and aesculin biosynthesis

Horse chestnut (Aesculus chinensis) is an important medicinal tree that contains various bioactive compounds, such as aescin, barrigenol-type triterpenoid saponins (BAT), and aesculin, a glycosylated coumarin. Herein, we report a 470.02 Mb genome assembly and characterize an Aesculus-specific whole-genome duplication event, which leads to the formation and duplication of two triterpenoid biosynthesis-related gene clusters (BGCs). We also show that AcOCS6, AcCYP716A278, AcCYP716A275, and AcCSL1 genes within these two BGCs along with a seed-specific expressed AcBAHD6 are responsible for the formation of aescin. Furthermore, we identify seven Aesculus-originated coumarin glycoside biosynthetic genes and achieve the de novo synthesis of aesculin in E. coli. Collinearity analysis shows that the collinear BGC segments can be traced back to early-diverging angiosperms, and the essential gene-encoding enzymes necessary for BAT biosynthesis are recruited before the splitting of Aesculus, Acer, and Xanthoceras. These findings provide insight on the evolution of gene clusters associated with medicinal tree metabolites.

Identification and functional characterization of AcMYB113 in anthocyanin metabolism of Aesculus chinensis Bunge var. chinensis leaves

Anthocyanins can be induced by environmental factors such as low-temperature and play essential roles in plant color formation. In this study, leaves of Aesculus chinensis Bunge var. chinensis with different colors under natural low-temperature in autumn were collected and grouped into green leaf (GL) and red leaf (RL). To reveal the underlying mechanism of color formation in RL, a combined analysis of the metabolome and transcriptome was conducted with GL and RL. Metabolic analyses revealed that total anthocyanin content and primary anthocyanin components were increased RL relative to GL and cyanidin was the main anthocyanin compound in RL. Transcriptome analysis provided a total of 18720 differentially expressed genes (DEGs), of which 9150 DEGs were upregulated and 9570 DEGs were downregulated in RL relative to GL. KEGG analysis showed that DEGs were mainly enriched in flavonoid biosynthesis, phenylalanine metabolism, and phenylpropanoid biosynthesis. Furthermore, co-expression network analysis indicated that 56 AcMYB transcription factors were highly expressed in RL compared with GL, among which AcMYB113 (an R2R3-MYB TF) had a strong correlation with anthocyanins. Overexpression of AcMYB113 in apple resulted in dark-purple transgenic calluses. In addition, the transient expression experiment showed that AcMYB113 enhanced anthocyanin synthesis by activating pathways of anthocyanin biosynthesis in leaves of Aesculus chinensis Bunge var. chinensis. Taken together, our findings reveal new insights into the molecular mechanism of anthocyanin accumulation in RL and provide candidate genes for the breeding of anthocyanin-rich cultivars.

Aescin can alleviate NAFLD through Keap1-Nrf2 by activating antioxidant and autophagy

BackgroundNon-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a common metabolic liver disease worldwide. It has been proven that aescin (Aes), a bioactive compound derived from the ripe dried fruit of Aesculus chinensis Bunge, has a number of physiologically active properties like anti-inflammatory and anti-edema, however it has not been investigated as a potential solution for NAFLD. PurposeThis study's major goal was to determine whether Aes can treat NAFLD and the mechanism underlying its therapeutic benefits. MethodsWe constructed HepG2 cell models in vitro that were affected by oleic and palmitic acids, as well as in vivo models for acute lipid metabolism disorder caused by tyloxapol and chronic NAFLD caused by high-fat diet. ResultsWe discovered that Aes could promote autophagy, activate the Nrf2 pathway, and ameliorate lipid accumulation and oxidative stress both in vitro and in vivo. Nevertheless, in Autophagy-related proteins 5 (Atg5) and Nrf2 knockout mice, Aes lost its curative impact on NAFLD. Computer simulations show that Aes might interact with Keap1, which might allow Aes to increase Nrf2 transfer into the nucleus and perform its function. Importantly, Aes's stimulation of autophagy in the liver was hampered in Nrf2 knockout mice. This suggested that the impact of Aes in inducing autophagy may be connected to the Nrf2 pathway. ConclusionWe first discovered Aes's regulating effects on liver autophagy and oxidative stress in NAFLD. And we found Aes may combine the Keap1 and regulate autophagy in the liver by affecting Nrf2 activation to exert its protective effect.

Comparison of Semen Aesculi species from different geographical origins and horse chestnut based on metabolomics and chemometrics analysis.

Semen Aesculi, a traditional Chinese herbal medicine, has a long history of use for treating chest and abdominal pain with distension. In addition, the horse chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum L.) is another species of Aesculus in Europe and has notable clinical significance in alleviating chronic venous insufficiency, hemorrhoids, and postoperative edema. Thus, highlighting the comparative study of Semen Aesculi and horse chestnut may broaden clinical applications. To conduct a comprehensive comparative analysis on the chemical profiling of these two varieties and determine whether they have equivalent clinical efficacy by integrating plant metabolomics and multivariate statistical methods. Initially, a comprehensive characterisation was performed using ultra-performance liquid chromatography quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-QTOF-MS/MS) platform, and in total 44 active ingredients were identified. Then, untargeted metabolomics combined with principal component analysis (PCA) and partial least squares-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) was applied for the discrimination of a German species and three official Chinese species. Next, 24 marker compounds responsible for the discrimination of different species were screened out and used to predict the species of unknown samples by genetic algorithm-optimised support vector machine (GA-SVM) with a high prediction accuracy. Finally, a heatmap visualisation was employed for clarifying the distribution of the identified active ingredients. The three species of Chinese Semen Aesculi showed distinct separation from each other, while European horse chestnut and Aesculus chinensis Bunge were similar in chemical composition. This work provided experimental evidence for further expanding the clinical application of Chinese Semen Aesculi and promoted the species identification and quality control of Semen Aesculi.

Pyrolysis of Aesculus chinensis Bunge Leaves as for Extracted Bio-Oil Material.

Biomass rapid pyrolysis technology is easy to implement in continuous production and industrial application, and has become one of the leading technologies in the field of world renewable energy development. Agricultural and forestry waste is an important resource of renewable energy in China. In general, abandoned leaves in forest areas cause serious waste of resources. Its utilization may help to settle the problems of energy deficiency and environment pollution. In this study, Aesculus chinensis Bunge leaves (A. Bunge) are used as the research object to study the pyrolysis and extract. The results showed that there are a lot of bioactive components in A. Bunge leaves extract, including acetamide, 5-hydroxymethylfurfural, R-limonene, d-mannose, and dihydroxyacetone. The active components of A. Bunge leaves supply scientific evidence for the exploration and exploitation of this plant. The pyrolysis products of A. Bunge leaves are rich in organic acids, aldehydes, and ketones, which means that A. Bunge leaves can be used as a crude material for the manufacturing of bio-oil or bio-fuel. The pyrolysis products include batilol, pregnenolone, benzoic acid, butyrolactone, and propanoic acid, which can be used in biological medicine, chemical crude materials, and industrial raw material reagents. Therefore, A. Bunge leaves can be used as a good crude material for bio-oil or biofuel production. Combining A. Bunge leaves and fast pyrolysis methods can effectively solve the problem of forestry and agricultural residues in the future.

1030. AESCULUS CHINENSIS: Sapindaceae

SummaryThe Chinese horse‐chestnut, Aesculus chinensis, is illustrated from a tree cultivated at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. This tree was grown from seeds originally imported from China by Dr Purdom, from whom Kew obtained a plant. A detailed description accompanies this excellent illustration. The taxonomy, ecology, cytology and etymology are also discussed. The introduction of this species into western horticulture and methods of propagation and cultivation are given.

First Report of Leaf Spot Caused by Colletotrichum fructicola on Dalbergia hupeana in China.

Dalbergia hupeana is a kind of wood and medicinal tree widely distributed in southern China. Since 2019, a leaf spot disease was observed on the leaves of D. hupeana in Gangxia village, Luoting town in Jiangxi Province, China (28°52'53″N, 115°44'58″E). The disease incidence was estimated to be above 50%. The symptoms began as small spots that gradually expanded, developing a brown central and dark brown to black margin. The spots ranged from 4 to 6 mm in diameter. Leaf pieces (5 × 5 mm) from lesion margins were surface sterilized in 70% ethanol for 30 s followed by 2% NaOCl for 1 min and then rinsed three times with sterile water. Tissues were placed on potato dextrose agar (PDA) and incubated at 25°C. Pure cultures were obtained by monosporic isolation. Fifteen strains with similar morphological characterizations were isolated, and three representative isolates (JHT-1, JHT-2, and JHT-3) were chosen and used for further study. Colonies on PDA of three isolates were grayish-green with white edges and dark green on the reverse side. Conidia were transparent, cylindrical with rounded ends, and measured 3.6-5.3 µm × 9.5-15.2 µm (3.7 ± 0.2 × 13.6 ± 1.1 µm, n = 100). Appressoria were dark brown, globose or subcylindrical, and ranged from 6.2-9.2 µm× 5.1-6.8 µm (7.9 ± 0.4 × 5.9 ± 0.3 µm, n=100). The morphological characteristics of the three strains were consistent with the description of species in the Colletotrichum gloeosporioides complex (Weir et al. 2012). The internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions, actin (ACT), calmodulin (CAL), chitin synthase (CHS-1) and glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) and beta-tubulin 2 (TUB2) were amplified from genomic DNA for the three isolates using primers ITS1/ITS4, ACT-512F/ACT-783R, CL1/CL2, CHS-79F/CHS-345R, GDF/GDR and T1/Bt2b (Weir et al. 2012), respectively. The sequences were deposited in GenBank (Accession Nos. MZ482016 - MZ482018 for ITS; MZ463636 - MZ463638 for ACT; MZ463648- MZ463650 for CAL; MZ463639 - MZ463641 for CHS-1; MZ463642 - MZ463644 for GAPDH; MZ463645 - MZ463647 for TUB2). A neighbor-joining phylogenetic tree was constructed with MEGA 7.0 using the concatenation of multiple sequences (ITS, ACT, GAPDH, TUB2, CHS-1, CAL) (Kumar et al. 2016). According to the phylogenetic tree, three isolates fall within the Colletotrichum fructicola clade (boot support 99%). Based on morphological characteristics and phylogenetic analysis, three isolates were identified as C. fructicola. The pathogenicity of three isolates was conducted on two-yr-old seedlings (30 cm tall) of D. hupeana. Healthy leaves were wounded with a sterile needle and then inoculated with 10 μL spore suspension (106 conidia per mL). Controls were treated with sterile water. All plants were covered with transparent plastic bags and incubated in a greenhouse at 28°C with a 12 h photoperiod (relative humidity > 80%). Within five days, the inoculated leaves developed lesions similar to those observed in the field, whereas controls were asymptomatic. The experiments repeated three times showed similar results. The infection rate was 100%. C. fructicola was re-isolated from the lesions, whereas no fungus was isolated from control leaves. C. fructicola can cause leaf diseases in a variety of hosts, including Aesculus chinensis (Sun et al. 2020), Peucedanum praeruptorum (Ma et al. 2020), and Mandevilla × amabilis (Sun et al. 2020). C. brevisporum and C. gigasporum were also reported to infect Dalbergia odorifera (Chen et al. 2021; Wan et al. 2018). However, This is the first report of C. fructicola associated with leaf spot disease on D. hupeana in China. These results will help to develop effective strategies for appropriately managing this newly emerging disease.

Unraveling the Glucosylation of Astringency Compounds of Horse Chestnut via Integrative Sensory Evaluation, Flavonoid Metabolism, Differential Transcriptome, and Phylogenetic Analysis.

The seeds of Chinese horse chestnut are used as a source of starch and escin, whereas the potential use of whole plant has been ignored. The astringency and bitterness of tea produced from the leaves and flowers were found to be significantly better than those of green tea, suggesting that the enriched flavonoids maybe sensory determinates. During 47 flavonoids identified in leaves and flowers, seven flavonol glycosides in the top 10 including astragalin and isoquercitrin were significantly higher content in flowers than in leaves. The crude proteins of flowers could catalyze flavonol glucosides' formation, in which three glycosyltransferases contributed to the flavonol glucosylation were screened out by multi-dimensional integration of transcriptome, evolutionary analyses, recombinant enzymatic analysis and molecular docking. The deep exploration for flavonol profile and glycosylation provides theoretical and experimental basis for utilization of flowers and leaves of Aesculus chinensis as additives and dietary supplements.

Comparative genomics and phylogenetic relationships of two endemic and endangered species (Handeliodendron bodinieri and Eurycorymbus cavaleriei) of two monotypic genera within Sapindales

BackgroundHandeliodendron Rehder and Eurycorymbus Hand.-Mazz. are the monotypic genera in the Sapindaceae family. The phylogenetic relationship of these endangered species Handeliodendron bodinieri (Lévl.) Rehd. and Eurycorymbus cavaleriei (Lévl.) Rehd. et Hand.-Mazz. with other members of Sapindaceae s.l. is not well resolved. A previous study concluded that the genus Aesculus might be paraphyletic because Handeliodendron was nested within it based on small DNA fragments. Thus, their chloroplast genomic information and comparative genomic analysis with other Sapindaceae species are necessary and crucial to understand the circumscription and plastome evolution of this family.ResultsThe chloroplast genome sizes of Handeliodendron bodinieri and Eurycorymbus cavaleriei are 151,271 and 158,690 bp, respectively. Results showed that a total of 114 unique genes were annotated in H. bodinieri and E. cavaleriei, and the ycf1 gene contained abundant SSRs in both genomes. Comparative analysis revealed that gene content, PCGs, and total GC content were remarkably similar or identical within 13 genera from Sapindaceae, and the chloroplast genome size of four genera was generally smaller within the family, including Acer, Dipteronia, Aesculus, and Handeliodendron. IR boundaries of the H. bodinieri showed a significant contraction, whereas it presented a notable expansion in E. cavaleriei cp genome. Ycf1, ndhC-trnV-UAC, and rpl32-trnL-UAG-ccsA were remarkably divergent regions in the Sapindaceae species. Analysis of selection pressure showed that there are a few positively selected genes. Phylogenetic analysis based on different datasets, including whole chloroplast genome sequences, coding sequences, large single-copy, small single-copy, and inverted repeat regions, consistently demonstrated that H. bodinieri was sister to the clade consisting of Aesculus chinensis and A. wangii and strongly support Eurycorymbus cavaleriei as sister to Dodonaea viscosa.ConclusionThis study revealed that the cp genome size of the Hippocastanoideae was generally smaller compared to the other subfamilies within Sapindaceae, and three highly divergent regions could be used as the specific DNA barcodes within Sapindaceae. Phylogenetic results strongly support that the subdivision of four subfamilies within Sapindaceae, and Handeliodendron is not nested within the genus Aesculus.

Pyrolysis of Aesculus chinensis Bunge Seed with Fe2O3/NiO as nanocatalysts for the production of bio-oil material

The rapid thermal cracking technology of biomass can convert biomass into bio-oil and is beneficial for industrial applications. Agricultural and forestry wastes are important parts of China's energy, and their high-grade utilization is useful to solve the problem of energy shortages and environmental pollution. To the best of our knowledge, the impact of nanocatalysts on converting biowastes for bio-oil has not been studied. Consequently, we examined the production of bio-oil by pyrolysis of Aesculus chinensis Bunge Seed (ACBS) using nanocatalysts (Fe2O3 and NiO catalysts) for the first time. The pyrolysis products of ACBS include 1-hydroxy-2-propanone (3.97%), acetic acid (5.42%), and furfural (0.66%). These chemical components can be recovered for use as chemical feedstock in the form of bio-oil, thus indicating the potential of ACBS as a feedstock to be converted by pyrolysis to produce value-added bio-oil. The Fe2O3 and NiO catalysts enhanced the pyrolysis process, which accelerated the precipitation of gaseous products. The pyrolysis rates of the samples gradually increased at DTGmax, effectively promoting the catalytic cracking of ACBS, which is beneficial to the development and utilization of ACBS to produce high valorization products. Combining ACBS and nanocatalysts can change the development direction of high valorization agricultural and forestry wastes in the future.

北京地区引种七叶树苗期对低温胁迫的生理响应

北京地区引种七叶树苗期对低温胁迫的生理响应

First Report of Leaf Blotch of Aesculus chinensis Caused by Colletotrichum gloeosporioides and Colletotrichum fructicola in China

First Report of Leaf Blotch of <i>Aesculus chinensis</i> Caused by <i>Colletotrichum gloeosporioides</i> and <i>Colletotrichum fructicola</i> in China

Effects of terrestrial isopods on soil nutrients during litter decomposition

Soil fauna are important biological factors that affect litter decomposition and play an important role in the release of nutrients, such as carbon and nitrogen. This study focused on the role of soil fauna in litter decomposition. Field microcosm experiments were conducted to assess the influence of isopods (Porcellionidae and Armadillidiidae) on soil nutrients during the litter decomposition of Catalpa bungei (CL), Platanus acerifolia (PL), and Aesculus chinensis (AL). The litter mass loss and nutrients in different soil layers treated with various isopods were determined in three-month microcosm incubations. Results showed that the presence of isopods significantly increased (P < 0.05) the litter decomposition rates compared with the control treatment (CK). The average weight (2.56 g) and total weight ratio (85.47%) of the isopod-decomposed litter were much larger than those of the CK treatment (0.43 g and 14.31%, respectively). In the different litter types collected, CL showed the highest decomposition rate among the different isopod treatments. Isopods increased the contents of organic carbon (OC), total nitrogen (TN), total potassium (TP), Olsen phosphorus (OP), available potassium (AK), ammonia nitrogen (NH4+–N), and nitrate nitrogen (NO3––N) in the surface soil by 59.19%, 27.36%, 2.72%, 29.30%, 5.85%, 13.10%, and 14.60%, respectively, relative to CK. The profile distribution of soil nutrients and the soil quality index under different isopod treatments were significantly (P < 0.05) greater in the 0–1 cm soil layer than in the 1–2, 2–4, and 4–6 cm soil layers. Further analysis showed that this significance was affected by decomposition time, isopod species, soil depth, and the interactions of these factors. The findings demonstrate that the isopods could accelerate litter decomposition and improve soil nutrients. This work provides evidence demonstrating that soil fauna can improve surface soil quality by promoting litter decomposition.

The complete chloroplast genome of Aesculus chinensis var. wilsonii

In this study, we sequenced the complete chloroplast (cp) genome of Aesculus chinensis Bunge var. wilsonii (Rehder) Turland & N. H. Xia and compared it with cp genomes of congeneric species. The cp genome of A. chinensis var. wilsonii is a circular molecule, 156,211 bp in length, with typical quadripartite structure. It has one large single copy (LSC) region of 85,211 bp and one small single copy (SSC) region of 18,124 bp that are separated by two inverted repeat regions (IR) of 26,438 bp. The cp genome encodes 133 genes comprising 85 protein-coding genes, 40 tRNA genes, and eight rRNA ribosomal genes. The overall GC content of the cp genome of A. chinensis var. wilsonii is 37.93%. We conducted amaximum likelihood phylogenetic analysis, which revealed that A. chinensis var. wilsonii is sister to A. wangii and has a close relationship with Acer L. (maples). We expect that the cp genome of A. chinensis var. wilsonii will be useful for DNA barcoding and species delimitation for this species as well as future studies on the conservation, taxonomy, and evolutionary relationships of Aesculus L.

How dynamic growth of avenue trees affects particulate matter dispersion: CFD simulations in street canyons

This study combined parameterized tree growth model, Reynolds Averaged Navier–Stokes model and revised generalized drift flux model to investigate the effect of dynamic growth of avenue trees on atmospheric particulate pollution dispersion in street canyons. We tested conditions with three street canyon aspect ratios (H/W = 0.45, 0.9 and 1.8) and five common avenue tree species (Gingko biloba, Aesculus chinensis, Acer buergerianum, Liriodendron chinense and Cedrus deodar). Results demonstrated that: 1) Avenue tree age was strongly correlated with their height and crown diameter (R2 ≥ 0.71). 2) PM reduction ratio increased significantly as tree age increased. G. biloba was the most effective at removing the pedestrian-level PM10, while L. chinenses has the greatest capacity to reduce pedestrian-level PM2.5. 3) Pedestrian-level PM on the windward street-side was positively related to H/W ratios. Maximum PM was measured on the leeward street-side at H/W = 0.9. 4) Tree height, crown diameter and crown volume in the street canyons were the primary factors affecting the pedestrian-level PM reduction ratio, while leaf area index and crown base height had less influence. Our results could provide guidelines for selecting avenue trees within street canyons and appropriate biometric characteristics during different plant stages to enhance urban sustainability.

Phenylethanol glycosides from the seeds of Aesculus chinensis var. chekiangensis

Three new phenylethanol glycosides (1-3) and one known analogue (4) were isolated from the seeds of Aesculus chinensis Bge. var. chekiangensis. To the best of our knowledge, this represents the first isolation of phenylethanol glycosides from the genus of Aesculus, which enriched its chemical composition. Structure elucidations were performed via extensive NMR and HRESIMS data together with comparison with literature data. Thereafter, the isolated compounds were assayed for their neuroprotective activities against CoCl2-induced cytotoxicity in PC12 cells and compound 3 exhibited moderate activity.

Escins Isolated from Aesculus chinensis Bge. Promote the Autophagic Degradation of Mutant Huntingtin and Inhibit its Induced Apoptosis in HT22 cells.

The pathogenesis of Huntington’s disease (HD), an inherited progressive neurodegenerative disease, is highly associated with the cytotoxicity-inducing mutant huntingtin (mHtt) protein. Emerging evidence indicates that autophagy plays a pivotal role in degrading aggregated proteins such as mHtt to enhance neuronal viability. In this study, by employing preparative high-performance liquid chromatography (pre-HPLC), ultra-high performance liquid chromatography diode-array-detector quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC-DAD-Q-TOF-MS) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), three escins, escin IA (EA), escin IB (EB) and isoescin IA (IEA), were isolated and identified from the seed of Aesculus chinensis Bge. (ACB). After EGFP-HTT74-overexpressing HT22 cells were treated with EA, EB and IEA at safe concentrations, the clearance of mHtt and mHtt-induced apoptosis were investigated by Western blot, immunofluorescence microscopy and flow cytometry methods. In addition, the autophagy induced by these escins in HT22 cells was monitored by detecting GFP-LC3 puncta, P62 and LC3 protein expression. The results showed that EA, EB and IEA could significantly decrease mHtt levels and inhibit its induced apoptosis in HT22 cells. In addition, these three saponins induced autophagic flux by increasing the ratio of RFP-LC3 to GFP-LC3, and by decreasing P62 expression. Among the tested escins, EB displayed the best autophagy induction, which was regulated via both the mTOR and ERK signaling pathways. Furthermore, the degradation of mHtt and the commensurate decrease in its cytotoxic effects by EA, EB and IEA were demonstrated to be closely associated with autophagy induction, which depended on ATG7. In conclusion, we are the first to report that the escins, including EA, EB and IEA are novel autophagy inducers that degrade mHtt and inhibit mHtt-induced apoptosis in vitro and in vivo. As a result of these findings, the triterpenoid saponins in ACB might be considered to be promising candidates for the treatment of HD in the future.