Squarroside A, a biologically active triterpene saponin from Acanthophyllum squarrosum.

A new bioactive saponin has been isolated from the roots of Acanthophyllum squarrosum. Based on spectroscopic data, especially direct and long-range heteronuclear 2D NMR analysis, and on chemical transformations, the structure of this new compound was elucidated as 3-O-beta-D-galactopyranosyl-(1-->2)-[beta-D-xylopyranosyl-(1-->3)]-beta- D-glucuronopyranosyl gypsogenin 28-O-beta-D-xylopyranosyl-(1-->4)-alpha-L- rhamnopyranosyl-(1-->2)-[alpha-L-arabinofuranosyl-(1-->3)]-beta-D-4-O- acetylfucopyranoside for which we proposed the name squarroside A. This molecule showed a concentration dependent immunomodulatory effect in the in vitro lymphocyte transformation test.