Abstract
Panax ginseng C. A. Meyer (Araliaceae) is a perennial medicinal plant with fleshy roots distributed its eastern Asia. It is used as an aphrodisiac, sexual rejuvenator and a panacea for longevity and to treat to relieve headache, fatigue, diabetes, dizziness, nausea, asthma, Alzheimer's disease, hemorrhage and impotence. Phytochemical investigation of methanolic extract of the roots of P. ginseng resulted in the isolation of new dammarane-type compounds characterized as dammar-l-en-3-on-7 beta,19,11 beta,21-tetradecanoyloxy-18,22 beta-diol (1), dammar-24-en-3 beta-ol-20 beta-isoprenoyloxy-3 beta-O-D galactopyranoside (3), dammar-12,24-dien-3 alpha.6 beta, 15 alpha-triol-3-O-alpha-L-arabinopyranosyl-6 beta-D-arabinopyranoside (4), dammar-24-en-3 alpha,6 beta,16 alpha.20 beta-tetraol-3-O-alpha-D-xylopyranosyl-6-O-beta-D-xylopyranoside (5) and dammar-12,24-dien-3 alpha,6 beta-diol-3-O-beta-D-arabinopyranosyl- (2 -> 1 '')-O-L-arabinopyranosyl-6-O-beta-L-rabinopyrano-side (6) along with the known steroidal glucoside sitosterol 3-beta-D-glucopyranoside. The structures of all the isolated phytoconstituents have been established on the basis of spectral data analysis and chemical reactions.