Steroidal Glycosides From Caralluma Pauciflora

The genus Caralluma is a rich source of steroidal glycosides. Carallumas investigated in the past have yielded a number of new steroidal glycosides with diverse and interesting structural features. Carcinoma pauciflora is a less investigated plant of Indian origin which has morphological resemblance to Caralluma indica. This study was undertaken to see if the phytochemical composition of these two plants is same or different. The present investigation of C. pauciflora resulted in the isolation and identification of three new pregnane type-steroidal glycosides (1-3). Paucifloroside-1 (1) is a highly polar sulfated glycoside. It was found that the phytochemical composition of C. pauciflora is different from that of C. indica, excepting for the fact that the glycoside carumbelloside-III was isolated from both the plants. The structures of the isolates were elucidated by extensive NMR spectroscopy, LC-MS and MS-MS studies.