Synthesis of 3β,20S-dihydroxydammar-24-en-12-one 3,20-di-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (chikusetsusaponin-LT8), a glycoside from Panax japonicus

A method for preparative production of 3β,20S-dihydroxydammar-24-en-12-one 3,20-di-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (1), a glycoside from Panax japonicus, chikusetsusaponin-LT₈ was developed. Chemical transformation of betulafolientriol, a component of Betula leaves extract, produced the 12-keto-20S-protopanaxadiol (3β,20S-dihydroxydammar-24-en-12-one) (2), exhaustive glycosylation of which by 2,3,4,6-tetra-O-acetyl-α-D-glucopyranosylbromide (3) under Koenigs—Knorr reaction conditions with subsequent removal of protecting groups formed 3β,20S-dihydroxydammar-24-en-12-one 3,20-di-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (1). The principal glycosylation product was 3β,20S-dihydroxydammar-24-en-12-one 3-O-β-D-glucopyranoside if equimolar amounts of (2) and (3) were used. __________ Translated from Khimiya Prirodnykh Soedinenii, No. 1, pp. 44–48, January–February, 2006.