Dammarane triterpenoid saponins from Bacopa monnieri
Bacopa monnieri is a well-known Ayurvedic Indian medicinal plant traditionally used as a memory enhancer. Its memory-enhancing effect is mainly attributed to dammarane triterpenoid saponins. In the present study, two new dammarane-type triterpenoid saponins, bacopaside-XI (1) and bacopaside-XII (2), together with known compounds, bacopaside IV, bacopaside V, and apigenin, were isolated from the aerial parts of the B. monnieri . The structures of the new saponins were elucidated as 3-O-[α-L-arabinofuranosyl(1→3)]-6-O-sulfonyl-β-D-glucopyranosyl pseudojujubogenin (1) and 3-O-{β-D-glucopyranosyl(1→3)[α-L-arabinofuranosyl(1→2)]-β-D-glucopyranosyl}-20-O-α-L-arabinopyranosyl pseudojujubogenin (2) on the basis of extensive investigations of 1D and 2D NMR (HMQC and HMBC), ESI-QTOF-MS/MS spectroscopic methods, and chemical evidences.