Dc. Vansetten et al., GLYCOSYL COMPOSITIONS AND STRUCTURAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE POTENTIALIMMUNO-ADJUVANT ACTIVE SAPONINS IN THE QUILLAJA-SAPONARIA MOLINA EXTRACT QUIL-A, Rapid communications in mass spectrometry, 9(8), 1995, pp. 660-666
Fifty saponin components of Quil A, a commercially available extract f
rom the bark of the South American tree Quillaja saponaria Molina, wer
e partially structurally characterised. The molecular weights were det
ermined by fast-atom bombardment mass spectrometry. The glycosyl and e
lemental composition of all the saponins was determined by applying ou
r recently developed method, monomer mapping, consisting of a computer
program and accurate mass measurements. Support for the presumed iden
tity of the aglycone, i.e. quillaic acid, was found in the accurate ma
ss determination,H-1 NMR measurement and chemical reactions. The sapon
in composition of Quil A was shown to consist of pairs. Within the 3-O
bound glycosyl moiety of a pair there was a structural difference: a
pentose and rhamnose were interchanged. Structural differences between
different pairs were located in the 28-O bound glycosyl moiety. A str
uctural element, unknown to date and of which the elemental compositio
n was deduced to be C8H12O5, was found in the 28-O bound glycosyl moie
ty of several saponins.