Synthesis of Sea Cucumber Saponins with Antitumor Activities

Holostane glycosides are characteristic metabolites of sea cucumbers, which possess various biological activities. Here, we report the synthesis of two representative congeners, namely, pervicoside B and C, starting from lanosterol with the longest linear sequence of both 34 steps and in 0.3% overall yields. The flexible synthetic approach has enabled us to expeditiously prepare 16 analogues for preliminary studies on the key structural features influencing their antiproliferative activities against tumor cells. A simplified disaccharide is found to be as potent as natural tetrasaccharides, which can be used as a lead for future studies.