Dammarane-type glycosides from steamed notoginseng.

Notoginseng, the root of Panax notoginseng (Burk.) F. H. Chen (Araliaceae), is a Chinese traditional medicine, which is used in both raw and processed forms due to their different pharmacological activities. Detailed chemical investigation on steamed notoginseng led to the isolation of 27 dammarane-type triterpenoids (1-27), including 4 new glycosides, namely, notoginsenosides ST-1-ST-3 and ST-5 (1-4), in addition to 3 other known compounds. Of the new compounds, 1-3 possess new aglycones. Their structures were elucidated on the basis of detailed analyses of their 1D and 2D NMR spectra and chemical reactions. The known compounds, koryoginsenoside-R1 (19), yesanchinoside D (20), 6''-O-acetylginsenoside Rg3 (24), and 3beta,6alpha,12beta-trihydroxydammar-20(21),24-diene ( 25), were isolated from notoginseng for the first time.