Steroidal saponins from Dracaena surculosa.

A phytochemical investigation of the whole plant of Dracaena surculosa resulted in the isolation of nine steroidal saponins, including three new bisdesmosidic spirostanol saponins, named surculosides A (1), B (2), and C (3), and a new bisdesmosidic furostanol saponin (4), which are based on (25S)-spirost-5-ene-1beta, 3beta-diol [(25S)-ruscogenin] as the aglycon. The structures of 1-4 were determined by spectroscopic analysis, including 2D NMR spectroscopic data, and the results of hydrolytic cleavage. The isolated saponins were evaluated for their cytotoxic activity against HL-60 human promyelocytic leukemia cells.