J Asian Nat Prod Res. 2002 Sep; 4(3): 211-5.

A new ergostanol saponin from Dioscorea deltoidea Wall var. orbiculata.

Shen P, Wang SL, Liu XK, Yang CR, Cai B, Yao XS.

Department of Natural Products Chemistry, Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, China.

From the fresh rhizomes of Dioscorea deltoidea Wall var. orbiculata, a novel ergostanol saponin, orbiculatoside A (1), was isolated and identified as 3-O-beta-D-glucopyranosyl-ergost-5-ene-3beta, 26-diol-26-O-beta-D-glucopyranosyl(1-->3)-[beta-D-glucopyranosyl(1-->2)-beta-D-glucupyranosyl(1-->6)]-beta-D-glucopyranoside by various NMR techniques in combination with chemical methods. The new saponin showed strong activity against Pyricularia oryzae, with a MMDC (minimum morphological deformation concentration) value of 28.04 micromol/l and was cytotoxic to cancer cell line K562, HCT-15, A549, HT1080, and A2780a in vitro.