Frondoside C (1) is a new sulfated nonholostane triterpene glycoside obtained (with the glycosides closed by aglycone structure as impurities) from the sea cucumber Cucumaria frondosa. Its structure has been elucidated on the basis of spectral data (NMR and MS) of compound 1 and of its desulfated derivative (2) obtained by solvolysis. Frondoside C (1) is just the seventh glycoside reported from sea cucumbers, having a lanostane-type aglycone devoid of the typical 18(20)lactone ring.Résumé : On a isolé un nouveau glycoside sulfaté du triterpène nonholostane, le frondoside C (1) (comportant des glycosides de la structure aglycone comme impuretés), à partir du concombre de mer Cucumaria frondosa. On a déterminé sa structure en se basant sur des données spectrales (RMN et SM) du composé 1 et de son dérivé désulfaté (2) obtenu par solvolyse. Le frondoside C (1) n'est que le septième glycoside à avoir été observé dans les concombres de mer, avec un aglycone de type lanostane ne comportant pas de cycle lactone typique en 18(20).Mots clés : Cucumaria frondosa, concombres de mer, frondosides, glycosides de triterpène, activité antitumorale.
[Traduit par la rédaction]The sea cucumber Cucumaria frondosa Gunnerus (Cucumariidae) is a widespread benthic animal inhabiting the North Atlantic and western Arctic seas. Previous studies of this sea cucumber have yielded two new holostane pentaglycosides, the monosulfated frondoside A (1) and the disulfated frondoside B (2). More recently, we have isolated a new minor monosulfated tetraoside frondoside A 1 , along with frondoside A, from specimens of C. frondosa collected in Barents Sea (3).Continuing with our investigations on bioactive secondary metabolites of marine origin, we report here our results on the study of the more polar triterpene glycosides from C. frondosa, with the isolation of a new saponin that we named frondoside C. Column chromatography on polychrom-1 (powdered Teflon) of the ethanolic extract of C. frondosa gave a mixture of glycosides that was separated by column chromatography on silica gel, affording frondoside C (1) accompanied by very small amounts of other polar glycosides with identical carbohydrate chain. Attempts to purify 1 by HPLC were unsuccessful. To establish wholly its structure, we resorted to spectroscopic analysis of impure 1 and the pure compound 2 that resulted from solvolysis of 1. Thus, solvolysis of 1 with pyridine-dioxane mixture afforded, after HPLC purification, the pure desulfated derivative 2.