Steroidal saponins from the roots of Dracaena marginata tam

A phytochemical investigation on the roots of Dracaena marginata yielded nine steroidal saponins. Six of the saponins were isolated as three pairs of 22-hydroxy furostanol saponins and their 22-methoxy derivatives including two new minors identified as 26-O-β-D-glucopyranosyl-22α-hydroxy-(25R)-furost-5en-3β, 26diol -3O-αLrhamnopyranosyl-(1→3)-[α-L-rhamnopyranosyl -(1→4)]–β–D -glucopyranoside and its 22methoxy derivative. The structures of the saponins were generally determined by 1D and 2D NMR data and acid hydrolysis. The cytotoixic activity of the saponin fraction and the isolates were tested against the two human tumor cell lines HepG2 and MCF7. The results revealed that the test isolates were weakly active against the used cell lines with IC50 values more than 30 μg/ml. while the saponin mixture was moderately active against the cell line HepG2 with IC50 value equals to 13.4 μg/ml.