Cytotoxic saponins from the Chinese herbal drug Yunnan Bai Yao.
Two cytotoxic saponins were isolated from the acetone extracts of the herbal preparation "Yunnan Bai Yao" by column chromatography. They were identified as a 3-([alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl()Rha leads to 2Glu)]-[alpha-L-arabinofuranosyl(1Ara leads to 4Glu)]-beta-D-glucopyranosyl)-25(R)-spirost-5-en-3beta-ol (I) and 3-([alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl(1Rha leads to 4Rha)-alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl(1Rha leads to 4Glu)]-[alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl(1Rha leads to 2Glu)]-beta-D-glucopyranosyl)-25(R)-spirost-5-en-3 beta-ol (VI). Both saponins exhibited significant cytotoxicity in the standard P-388, L-1210, and 9KB tissue culture screens.