A unique immuno-stimulant steroidal sapogenin acid from the roots of Asparagus racemosus.

A new steroidal sapogenin molecule 1 having unique characteristics, 21-nor and unusual C19 carboxylic acid has been isolated from the roots of Asparagus racemosus. On the basis of chemical evidence, extensive spectroscopic analysis including two dimensional (2D) NMR and X-ray studies of single crystal, the structure of 1 was determined as (1S,2R,3S,8S,9S,10S,13S,14S,16S,17R,22R,25R)-21-nor-18ß,27α-dimethyl-1ß,2ß,3ß-trihydroxy-25-spirost-4-en-19ß-oic acid. 1 crystallizes in monoclinic space group P21 with a=9.295(2), b=11.238(2), c=11.376(2) Å; ß=91.993(4)°, Z=2, D(cal)=1.344 Mg/m³. The structure was solved by direct methods and refined by full-matrix least-squares procedure to a final R-value of 0.0561 for 4064 observed reflections. 1 was tested against the type of immune responses generated during treatment in normal and immune-suppressed animals and detailed biological activity evaluation suggests it to be a potent immunostimulator.