New Hemisynthetic Oleanane Saponin with Antimicrobial Activities

A new hemisynthetic oleanane saponin: 4',2",3",4",6"-penta-O-acetyl-6'-O- methyl-3-O-β-D-glucopyranosyl-(1→2)-β-D-glucuronopyranosyl oleanolic acid (2) was obtained after acetylation and methylation reaction on 3-O-β-D- glucopyranosyl-(1→2)-β-D-glucuronopyranosyl oleanolic acid (1). Its structure was established by extensive analysis of 1D-(1H, 13C), 2D-(COSY, HSQC and HMBC) NMR data in conjunction with mass spectrometry (HR- TOFESIMS). The evaluation of antimicrobial activities using microdilution method showed that, reaction product (2) presented the lowest values of MIC against E. coli (MIC = 16 μg/mL), S. aureus (MIC = 8 μg/mL), C. tropicalis (MIC = 16 μg/mL) C. albicans (MIC = 8 μg/mL) compare to the substrate (1) against the same microbial strains: E. coli (MIC = 32 μg/mL), S. aureus (MIC = 16 μg/mL), C. tropicalis (MIC = 32 μg/mL), C. albicans (MIC = 16 μg/mL). These results indicate that, acetylation and methylation reactions of compound 1 increase its antimicrobial activities against the tested microorganisms.