Intramolecular interchain reactions in bidesmosidic glycosides, a new insight into carbohydrate rearrangements induced by electrospray ionisation.

Glycoconjugates are a class of complex molecules that are widely distributed in the plant kingdom and in some marine organisms. This class of compounds has a wide range of biological activities such as anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antifungal, anticancer, antiulcer, and immunoenhancing actions.1-3 Some of them also show various toxic activities such as cytotoxic, hemolytic, cardiotoxic, and teratogenic. Among these compounds, steroidal and triterpenoid saponins have long been known as components of widely used herbal drugs and pharmaceutical preparations; ginseng, Tribulus terrestris, Quillaja saponaria, and Digitalis ssp. are just a few examples. Thus, identification of saponins in herbal drugs used worldwide is of significance in phytochemical and toxicological quality control studies, and for the production of safe health products. Therefore, there is continuing demand for methods to rapidly identify and characterize these natural products. Copyright 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.