Indian Journal of Chemistry Vol. 41 B. July 2002. pp. 1535-1539 Note Triterpenoid and acetophenone glycosides from Cassia sophera Rashmi Sanghi *, Punita Srivastava# & J Singh# Facility for Ecological and Analytical Testing, 302 Southern Laboratories. Indian Institute of Technology. Kanpur 208 016, India *E-mail : rsallg hi @iilk .ac. in #Chemistry Department, University of Allahabad, Allahabad 211 002. India Received 3 October 2000; accepted (revised) 12 July 2001 Two new glycosides 313. 2213. 24. 29-tetrahydroxy olean-12- ene-3. 24-0-I3-o-dixylopyranoside and 3-(2'-hydroxy-3' -methyl- 3' -butenyl) acetophenone-4-0-fl3-o-arabinopyranosy 1-( I l3-o-galactopyranoside have been isolated from the heart-wood of Cassia sophera. More then fifty species of Cassia I have been chemically examjned and various types of (polysaccharides, alkaloids, steroids, terpenes, anthraquinones and flavonoids) compounds of structural significance and medicinal importance have been isolated from different parts of the plant. The study of Cassia sophera (Legurrunosae) was undertaken since not much work has been done on this particular species. Some terpenes and one anthraquinone from flowers of the plant have been isolated earlier. Cassia sophera has several therapeutic uses 2 • This paper describes the isolation and characterisation of two new glycosides from the heart-wood of Cassia sophera. The water-insoluble portion of the hot ethanol extract of the ajr dried and crushed plant on flash column chromatography yielded compounds 1 and 2. Compound 1, a glycoside, on acid hydrolysis gave an aglycone 1a and a sugar identified as D-xylose (8 3.2-3.8, 1 H, d, 1-7Hz), on the basis of co-paper chromatography with an authentic sample. The aglycone gave characteristic colour reactions 3 - 5 of an unsaturated pentacyclic triterpenoid. The IR spectrum of 1a showed absorptions for hydroxyl group (3600 cm- I ), primary and secondary alcoholic group (1250, 1110, 1000, 940 cm- I ), trisubstituted double bond (1630 cm· I ). The IH NMR spectrum of 1a showed signals for six tertiary methyl groups between 8 0.88- 1.16 (each 3H, s), a vinylic proton at 8 5.25 (1H, t, OH H o OH OH 1 HO H 2 HO o ,0------.-) HO 1=3.3Hz) all of which suggested 1a to be an 0Iean-12- ene derivative. The AB quartet pattern at 8 3.27 and 4.12 (each IH, d, 1=12Hz) corresponded to two hydroxy methyl groups6, respectively. A multiplet corresponding to three protons at 8 3.2-3.40 was due to the fact that the absorption of methylene protons of CH 2 0H at C-20 and that of the proton at C-3 occur around the same position. Presence of the hydrogen in a-orientation at C-3 which was also favoured bio- genetically showed the presence of OH group at C-3 in The I3C NMR spectra of the aglycone revealed thirty carbons in the molecule. The mass spectrum of 1a revealed a pajr of diagnostically important peaks at mlz 250, 219, 224 and 219, typical of retro Diels- Alder fragmentation of oleanene derivatives. The position of hydroxymethyl group at C-20 and OH group at C-24 was confirmed by the downfield I3C NMR signals for C-20 at 8 36.5 and C-24 at 8