Two new steroidal saponins from Allium macrostemon bunge and their cytotoxity on different cancer cell lines.

Two new steroidal saponins (1 and 2) were isolated from the dried bulbs of Allium macrostemon Bunge. Their structures were elucidated by the spectral data as 26-O-beta-D-glucopyranosyl-5alpha-furost-25 (27)-ene-3beta, 12beta, 22, 26-tetraol-3-O-beta-D-glucopyranosyl (1-->2) [beta-D-glucopyranosyl (1-->3)]-beta-D-glucopyranosyl (1-->4)-beta-D-galactopyranoside (1) and 26-O-beta-D-glucopyranosyl-5beta-furost-20 (22)-25 (27)-dien-3beta, 12beta, 26-triol-3-O-beta-D-glucopyranosyl (1-->2)-beta-D-galactopyranoside (2), respectively. Their cytotoxic activities on several cancer cell lines (MCF-7, NCI-H460, SF-268 and HepG2) were tested. 1 showed special cytotoxity on SF-268, while 2 showed cytotoxity on NCI-H460 and SF-268 cell lines, respectively.