Phytochemical study of actaea rubra and biological screenings of isolates.

A phytochemical study on the chemical constituents of the roots of Actaea rubra led to the isolation and characterization of eleven xylosides of 9,19-cyclolanostane type triterpenes including the new rubraside A (1) and a beta-sitosterol glucoside. The structures of the isolates were determined with the help of spectroscopic data including 2-dimensional NMR as well as comparison with reported data. The compounds were tested for cytotoxic, estrogenic, antioxidant, and anticomplement activities. They were found inactive in the tested assays, except for 4, which showed moderate anticomplement activity.