soapnuts, generally grows in tropical and sub-tropical regions of Asia. It was reported that S. mukorossi possessed efficient natural surfactants and has served as commercial ingredient of shampoo and cosmetic cleansers. In addition, some pharmacological effects including anthelmintic, antidermatophytic, antiinflammatory, antimicrobial, antitussive, cytotoxic, haemolytic, and molluscicidal acti...

Four new oleanene-type triterpenoid saponins together with six known saponins were isolated from the roots of Pulsatilla cernua and their structures were elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic data, including 2D NMR spectra and chemical evidence. Among these one of the aglycones (gypsogenin) is reported for the first time from this genus. Some of these compounds showed significant neuroprotec...

Bioassay-guided fractionation of a CH(2)Cl(2)-MeOH extract of the aerial parts of Albizia inundata resulted in the isolation of two new natural oleanane-type triterpene saponins {3-O-[α-L-arabinopyranosyl(1→6)]-2-acetamido-2-deoxy-β-D-glucopyranosyl oleanolic acid (1) and 3-O-[α-L-arabinopyranosyl(1→2)-α-L-arabinopyranosyl(1→6)]-2-acetamido-2-deoxy-β-D-glucopyranosyl acacic acid lactone (2)} al...

It is well known that spirostane-type saponins show various bioactivities. In our on-going program of screening these kinds of constituents from natural products, Yucca schidigera was found to be rich in them, and nine new spirostanol saponins, Yucca spirostanosides A₁ (1), A₂ (2), B₁ (3), B₂ (4), B₃ (5), C₁ (6), C₂ (7), C₃ (8), and D₁ (9), together with five known ones (10-14) were isolated fr...

Three new 15,16-seco-cycloartane glycosides, which were constructed by a C-C bond cleavage in the D ring, have been isolated from Cimicifuga Rhizome for the first time. Their structures were determined by the use of 2D NMR techniques and chemical evidence.

Sea cucumbers produce numerous compounds with a wide range of chemical structural diversity. Among these, saponins are the most diverse and include sulfated, non-sulfated, acetylated and methylated congeners with different aglycone and sugar moieties. In this study, MALDI and ESI tandem mass spectrometry, in the positive ion mode, were used to elucidate the structure of new saponins extracted f...