A phytochemical analysis of the bulbs of Allium vavilovii M. Pop. & Vved. was attained for the first time
extensively, affording to the isolation of four new furostanol saponins, named vavilosides A1/A2–B1/B2
(1a/b–2a/2b), as two couple of isomers in equilibrium, together with ascalonicoside A1/A2 (3a/3b) and
22-O-methyl ascalonicoside A1/A2 (4a/4b), previously isolated from shallot, Allium ascalonicum. High
concentrations of kaempferol, kaempferide, and kaempferol 4I-glucoside were also isolated. The chemical
structures of the new compounds, established through a combination of extensive nuclear magnetic resonance,
mass spectrometry and chemical analyses, were identified as (25R)-furost-5(6)-en-1b,3b,22a,26-
tetraol 1-O-a-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1?2)-O-b-D-galactopyranosyl 26-O-a-L-rhamnopyranoside (vaviloside
A1), (25R)-furost-5(6)-en-1b,3b,22b,26-tetraol 1-O-a-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1?2)-O-b-D-galactopyranosyl
26-O-a-L-rhamnopyranoside (vaviloside A2), (25R)-furost-5(6)-en-1b,3b,22a,26-tetraol 1-O-a-Lrhamnopyranosyl-(
1?2)-O-b-D-xylopyranosyl 26-O-a-L-rhamnopyranoside (vaviloside B1), (25R)-furost-
5(6)-en-1b,3b,22b,26-tetraol 1-O-a-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1?2)-O-b-D-xylopyranosyl 26-O-a-Lrhamnopyranoside
(vaviloside B2). The isolated saponins showed cytotoxic activity on J-774, murine
monocyte/macrophage, and WEHI-164, murine fibrosarcoma, cell lines with the following rank: vaviloside
B1/B2 > ascalonicoside A1/A2 > vaviloside A1/A2.
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