Medicinal foodstuffs. I. Hypoglycemic constituents from a garnish foodstuff "taranome," the young shoot of Aralia elata SEEM.: elatosides G, H, I, J, and K.

Five new saponins named elatosides G, H, I, J, and K were isolated from a garnish foodstuff "Taranome," the young shoot of Aralia elata SEEM., together with hederagenin-3-O-glucuronopyranoside and elatoside C. Their chemical structures were elucidated on the basis of chemical and physicochemical evidence. Elatosides G, H, and I were found to exhibit potent hypoglycemic activity in the oral glucose tolerance test in rats.