Hexagonosides A-F: Pregnane glycosides isolated from Caralluma hexagona

Chemical investigation of Caralluma hexagona Lavranos, a wild plant growing in Yemen, led to the isolation of four previously undescribed acylated pregnane glycosides, hexagonosides A-D (1-4), together with two sets of mixtures (hexagonosides E and F), each set consists of three interconvertible pregnane glycoside isomers, hexagonosides E (5a-c) and F (6a-c). The chemical structures of the isolated pregnane glycosides were elucidated by extensive 1D/2D NMR and HRESI-MS analysis, featuring 6'-O-benzoyl-1'-O-β-glucosyl residue at aglycone C-20; while aglycone C-3 was substituted with disaccharide sugar chain (1, 2, 5a-c) or a trisaccharide sugar chain (3, 4, 6a-c). Metabolites E and F included an extra benzoyl substitution in C-20 glucosyl residue which is migrating between the OH groups of C-2', C-3' and C-4' resulting in equilibrating conformations (5a-c and 6a-c) when incubated in HPLC solvent, which we confirmed by the analytical study.