Four steroidal glycosides including deltoside and nolinofuroside D and two
novel saponins were isolated from underground parts of Allium nutans L. On
the basis of the spectral (LSIMS and NMR) analysis, the structures of the n
ew compounds were established as 25R Delta(5)-spirostan 3 beta-ol-3-O-{alph
a-L-rhamnopyranosyl(1-->2)-[beta-D-glucopyranosyl(1-->4)]-O-beta-D-galactop
yranoside} and 25R Delta(5)-spirostan 1 beta,3 beta-diol 1-O-beta-D-galacto
pyranoside. On the basis of the extraction efficiency, the concentration of
saponins was established to be about 4% of dry matter, which makes this sp
ecies a good source of steroidal saponins for commercial use.