[New cardenolides from Convallaria majalis]

From the leaves of Convallaria majalis L. eight glycosides of strophanthidin, cannogenol, sarmentogenin and 19-hydroxysarmentogenin, resp., were isolated and structurally elucidated as strophanthidin-3-O-6'-deoxy-beta-D-allosido-alpha-L-rhamnoside, strophanthidin-3-O-6'-deoxy-beta-D-allosido-alpha-L-arabinoside, strophanthidin-3-O-alpha-L-rhamnosido-2'-beta-D-glucoside, cannogenol-3-O-6'-deoxy-beta-D-allosido-beta-D-glucoside, cannogenol-3-O-6'-deoxy-beta-D-allosido-alpha-L-rhamnoside, 19-hydroxy-sarmentogenin-3-O-alpha-L-rhamnoside, sarmentogenin-3-O-6'-deoxy-beta-D-allosido-alpha-L-rhamnoside and sarmentogenin-3-O-6'-deoxy-beta-D-guloside, mainly by means of their H-NMR-spectra, by EI-MS and LD-MS. This is the first report of the occurrence of 19-hydroxy-sarmentogenin in nature. The presence of arabinosido-6-deoxyallose within the sugar chain of a cardiac glycoside was detected for the first time, as well. Including the new glycosides, a total of 38 cardenolides, derived from nine aglycones, have now been found in Convallaria majalis.