Isolation and hypoglycemic activity of eleutherans A, B, C, D, E, F, and G: glycans of Eleutherococcus senticosus roots.

Intraperitoneal injection of an aqueous extract of the crude drug "shigoka" (Siberian ginseng), Eleutherococcus senticosus roots, remarkably diminished plasma-sugar level in mice. Fractionation of the extract by monitoring the activity yielded seven glycans, eleutherans A, B, C, D, E, F, and G, which exerted marked hypoglycemic effects in normal and alloxan-induced hyperglycemic mice.