Saponins of plants of Panax species collected in Central Nepal, and their chemotaxonomical significance. III.

Panax pseudo-ginseng subsp. pseudo-ginseng has a carrot like root with a sm all rhizome. It was shown that the saponin composition of roots and rhizome s of this subspecies collected in Tibet and China was extremely poor. From the roots and rhizomes collected in Central Nepal, (specimen-PNct), only a small amount of an oleanolic acid saponin, beta-D-glucopyranosyl-oleanolate (2) was isolated together with a polyacetylene-alcohol, panaxynol (3). In another specimen (specimen-PNs), also collected in Central Nepal, two olean olic acid saponins, stipleanoside R2 (4) and chikusetsusaponin IV (5) were detected. No dammarane saponin was identified in either specimen. P. pseudo -ginseng subsp. himalaicus (Subsp-H) has a big rhizome with a small round r oot. From rhizomes and roots of this subsp. collected in Central Nepal (spe cimen-HNct), a fairly large amount of dammarane saponins, ginsenosides-Rb-1 (6), -Rd (7), -Re (9) and -Rg1 (10), gypenoside XVII (8), notoginsenoside- R-1 (11), majonoside-R2 (12) and pseudo-ginsenoside-F-11 (13) were isolated , while no oleanane saponin (oleanolic acid saponin) was identified in this subsp. Based on the present and previous studies, medicinal evaluation and chemogeographical correlation of Himalayan Panax spp. are discussed.