Triterpene saponins from Cyclamen hederifolium.

Five triterpene saponins never reported before, hederifoliosides A-E, and four known triterpene saponins were isolated from the tubers of Cyclamen hederifolium. The structures of hederifoliosides A-E were determined as 3ß,16α-dihydroxy-13ß,28-epoxyolean-30-oic acid 3-O-{[ß-D-glucopyranosyl-(1 → 2)-O]-ß-D-xylopyranosyl-(1 → 2)-O-ß-D-glucopyranosyl-(1 → 4)-O-α-L-arabinopyranoside}, 3ß,16α-dihydroxy-13ß,28-epoxyolean-30-oic acid 3-O-{[ß-D-glucopyranosyl-(1 → 2)-O]-ß-D-xylopyranosyl-(1 → 2)-O-[ß-D-glucopyranosyl-(1 → 3)]-O-ß-D-glucopyranosyl-(1 → 4)-O-α-L-arabinopyranoside}, 3ß,16α-dihydroxy-13ß,28-epoxyolean-30-al 3-O-{[ß-D-glucopyranosyl-(1 → 2)-O]-ß-D-xylopyranosyl-(1 → 2)-O-[ß-D-glucopyranosyl-(1 → 3)]-O-[ß-D-glucopyranosyl-(1 → 6)]-O-ß-D-glucopyranosyl-(1 → 4)-O-α-L-arabinopyranoside}, 30-O-ß-D-glucopyranosyl-(1 → 2)-O-ß-D-glucopyranosyl-3ß,16α,30-trihydroxyolean-12-en-28-al 3-O-{[ß-D-glucopyranosyl-(1 → 2)-O]-ß-D-xylopyranosyl-(1 → 2)-O-ß-D-glucopyranosyl-(1 → 4)-O-α-L-arabinopyranoside}, 30-O-ß-D-glucopyranosyl-(1 → 2)-O-ß-D-glucopyranosyl-3ß,16α,28,30-tetrahydroxyolean-12-en 3-O-{[ß-D-glucopyranosyl-(1 → 2)-O]-ß-D-xylopyranosyl-(1 → 2)-O-[ß-D-glucopyranosyl-(1 → 3)]-O-ß-D-glucopyranosyl-(1 → 4)-O-α-L-arabinopyranoside}, by a combination of one- and two-dimensional NMR techniques, and mass spectrometry. The cytotoxic activity of the isolated compounds was evaluated against a small panel of cancer cell lines including Hela, H-446, HT-29, and U937. None of the tested compounds, in a range of concentrations between 1 and 50 µM, caused a significant reduction of the cell number.