Facile synthesis of oleanolic acid monoglycosides and diglycosides

Article abstract of DOI:10.3390/molecules13071472

Oleanolic acid and its glycosides are important natural products, possessing various attractive biological activities such as antitumor, antivirus and anti-inflammatory properties. In the present work, fifteen oleanolic acid saponins bearing various sacch

Full text of DOI:10.3390/molecules13071472

Molecules 2008, 13, 1472-1486; DOI: 10.3390/molecules13071472
OPEN ACCESS
molecules
ISSN 1420-3049
www.mdpi.org/molecules
Article
Facile Synthesis of Oleanolic Acid Monoglycosides and
Diglycosides
Yu Sha, Mao-Cai Yan, Jiao Liu, Yang Liu and Mao-Sheng Cheng *
Key Lab of New Drug Design and Discovery of Liaoning Province, School of Pharmaceutical
Engineering, Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, Shenyang 110016, P. R. China; E-mails:
syna2000@yahoo.com (Y. S.); yanmaocai@126.com (M.-C. Y.); amityliu@163.com (Y. L.);
ly_99@sina.com (Y. L.)
* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed: E-Mail: mscheng@263.net
Received: 16 June 2008; in revised form: 18 July 2008 / Accepted: 18 July 2008 / Published: 22 July
2008
Abstract: Oleanolic acid and its glycosides are important natural products, possessing
various attractive biological activities such as antitumor, antivirus and anti-inflammatory
properties. In the present work, fifteen oleanolic acid saponins bearing various saccharide
moieties, including 3-monoglycoside, 28-monoglycoside and 3,28-diglycoside, were
easily synthesized in high yields. Benzyl was chosen as the protective group for the
COOH(28) group, instead of commonly used methyl and allyl, to avoid difficulties in the
final deprotection. Alkali-promoted condensation of the carboxylic acid with bromo-
glycosides was found to be more efficient in the synthesis of 28-glycosides. Two
approaches were investigated and proved practicable in the preparation of 3,28-
diglycosides. This method is suitable for preparing oleanolic acid glycosides with
structural diversity for extensive biological evaluation and structure-activity relationship
study, and it also apply new idea for the corresponding synthetic methods to the
glycoside derivatives of other triterpenoid.
Keywords: Oleanolic acid, triterpenoid, glycoside, synthesis, glycosylation

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Introduction
Oleanolic acid (OA, 1, Figure 1) is one of the most important triterpenes, which is found widely
distributed in Nature, along with its glycosides [1]. Possessing multiple biological effects, such as
antitumor, antiulcer, antivirus, antihyperlipidemic, anti-inflammatory and hepatoprotective activities
[1-5], OA and its saponins have received increasing attentions in recent years. The saccharide moiety
of OA saponins has been revealed to be of importance for their bioactivities. For example, oleanane-
type triterpenoid saponins bearing an α-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1→2)-α-L-arabinopyranosyl moiety at
C(3)-OH generally show markedly higher antitumor activity than their aglycons [4, 5]. Some OA
glycosides show significant gastrointestinal transit acceleration or inhibition activity in mice, while the
aglycon OA does not [6].
Although OA has become an auxiliary drug in the treatment of liver disease, many bioactivities of
OA glycosides are too weak to be utilized in clinical therapy. Chemical synthesis and modification is
known to be a powerful tool in preparation of novel compounds with diversity for pharmacology
studies and new chemical entity development. In fact, the synthesis of OA glycosides has attracted
much attention from researchers for a long time. As early as 1952, Hardegger et al. reported the
glycosylation of OA esters with acetylated bromoglycosides [7]. Later a few studies were reported on
the glycosylation of OA by the Koenigs-Knorr method [8-13], which was usually inefficient and
resulted in uneven yields. Although methyl was most commonly used as protective group for the
carboxylic acid in the early synthesis work, alkaline hydrolysis of OA esters was very difficult due to
the high steric hinderance [14]. Therefore, halolysis (usually LiI/DMF, reflux) was often employed to
cleave OA esters, but was of low efficiency and too harsh for many groups. In 1999, Deng et al.
reported a highly efficient glycosylation of triterpenoids and steroids via the Schmidt method [15, 16],
in which the allyl ester of OA was glycosylated with benzoylated trichloroacetimidates in very high
yields (>90%). Based on this method, Zang et al. accomplished in 2005 the synthesis of four 3-mono-
glycosides of OA [17]. The glycosylation of allyl oleanolate was carried out in 80~90% yield,
however, removal of allyl in the final step by treatment with PdCl2 for 24 h afforded relatively lower
yields (only 41~47%). A few syntheses of some bioactive OA saponins bearing complex saccharide
moieties were accomplished in recent years [18-20], nevertheless more facile and efficient synthetic
methods towards this interesting structure require further investigation. Based on our experience in
triterpenoid saponin synthesis, we started with the highly efficient preparation of OA glycosides on a
large scale for extensive bioactivity evaluation and structure-activity relationship study.
Figure 1. Structure of oleanolic acid
12
13
COOH
28
3
HO
1
24
23

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Results and Discussion
OA has two glycosylation sites, i.e. C(3)-OH and COOH(28), which can be glycosylated to form
3-monoglycosides, 28-monoglycosides and 3,28-diglycosides. The present work describes the initial
glycosylation study of OA, which was carried out with some commercially available sugars, such as D-
glucose, L-arabinose, lactose and maltose.
1. Preparation of OA 3-glycosides
Since common alkyl esters of OA are difficult to retransform into free carboxylic acids, selection
of a suitable protective group for COOH(28) is the primary problem. Trityl (Tr) and tert-butyl-
diphenylsilyl (TBDPS) had been used in the previous work [21, 22], however, they are too sensitive to
act as permanent protective groups in the preparation of complex glycosides. As mentioned above, the
deprotection was usually inefficient when allyl was employed [17, 18]. In our previous work on
triterpenoid saponin synthesis [19, 23], benzyl was chosen and proved to be an excellent permanent
protective group for COOH(28), as it can be conveniently removed through catalytic hydrogenolysis in
nearly quantitive yields, while the double bond between C(12) and C(13) would not be affected [24].
Therefore, we adopted benzyl in the present work.
Scheme 1. Synthesis of OA 3-glycosides.
O
CCl3
R
NH
COOR2
COOR
3a ~ 3g R = P1 ~ P7
b
R1O
HO
4a ~ 4g R1 = P1 ~ P7, R2 = Bn
5a ~ 5g R1 = P1 ~ P7, R2 = H
6a ~ 6g R1 = S1 ~ S7, R2 = H
c
1 R = H
2 R = Bn
a
d
OH
OH
OH
HO
O
OH
O
HO
HO
O
S4 =
O
OH
S1 =
S5 =
P1 =
P5 =
S3 =
HO
HO
S2 =
HO
HO
OH
OH
HO
OH
HO
OH
O
O
O
HO
HO
HO
HO
S6 =
S7 =
O
O
HO
O
HO
HO
HO
O
HO
OH
OH
OH
OH
O
OBz
OBz
OBz
O
OBz
BzO
BzO
BzO
BzO
O
P4 =
O
OBz
P3 =
P2 =
BzO
BzO
BzO
OBz
OBz
OBz
BzO
OBz
BzO
O
O
O
OBz
BzO
BzO
BzO
P6 =
P7 =
O
O
BzO
BzO
O
BzO
BzO
BzO
O
BzO
OBz
OBz
OBz
Reagents and conditions: (a) BnBr, K2CO3, THF-H2O, rt; (b) TMSOTf, 4 Å MS, CH2Cl2, rt; (c)
H2, Pd-C (10%), EtOAc, reflux; (d) NaOMe, CH2Cl2-MeOH, rt.

Molecules 2008, 13
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As shown in Scheme 1, OA was first converted into its benzyl ester 2 in 98% yield [23], and C(3)-
OH was then glycosylated with trichloroacetimidates 3 under promotion with TMSOTf. The benzyl
moiety was then removed under catalytic hydrogenolysis to give free carboxylic acids 5, which would
be subjected to further glycosylation to give 3,28-diglycosides in the later work. Removal of benzoyl
on 5 through ester exchange in NaOMe-MeOH afforded target OA 3-glycosides 6. According to this
method, seven 3-glycosides of OA were easily prepared in overall yields of 58%~79%.
2. Preparation of OA 28-glycosides
Two approaches were attempted to prepare OA 28-glycosides. In the first approach, the C(3)-OH
of OA was acetylated in Ac2O-pyridine and glycosylation of COOH(28) was carried out with
benzoylated trichloroacetimidates. Benzoyl and acetyl groups were then removed by NaOMe-MeOH
to give OA 28-glycosides (Scheme 2). However, removal of Ac on C(3)-OH was found to be more
difficult than that of benzoyl groups on the saccharide moieties due to the steric hinderance from C(23)
and C(24). Stronger alkaline condition usually led to the partial breakage of acyl glycoside linkage at
C(28). By this approach OA ester of β-D-galactose (9a) and α-L-rhamnose (9b) were synthesized in
18% and 21% total yields, respectively.
Scheme 2. Synthesis of OA 28-glycosides (the first approach).
O
CCl3
R
NH
COOR2
3b R = P2
3g R = P7
COOH
R1O
b
RO
8a R1 = Ac, R2 =P2; 8b R1 = Ac, R2 = P7
9a R1 = H, R2 =S2; 9b R1 = H, R2 = S7
1 R = H
7 R = Ac
a
c
Reagents and conditions: (a) Ac2O, pyridine, rt; (b) TMSOTf, 4 Å MS, CH2Cl2, 0°C; (c) NaOMe,
CH2Cl2-MeOH, rt.
Scheme 3. Synthesis of OA 28-glycosides (the second approach).
R Br
10a R = P2; 10b R = P3
10c R = P6; 10d R = P7
COOH
COOR
a
HO
HO
1
11a R =P2; 11b R = P3; 11c R = P6; 11d R = P7
9a R =S2; 12b R = S3; 12c R = S6; 9b R = S7
b
Reagents and conditions: (a) K2CO3, CHCl3-H2O, Bu4NBr, 50°C; (b) NaOMe, CH2Cl2-MeOH, rt.

Molecules 2008, 13
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Alternatively, alkaline-promoted condensation of free OA with benzoylated bromoglycosides (R-
Br, R=P2, P3, P6, and P7) under phase transfer catalysis was attempted (Scheme 3) [25]. However, no
significant reaction was observed under the reported conditions, possibly because benzoylated
bromoglycosides are more stable than the acetylated donors employed in the literature. When modified
conditions (K2CO3, Bu4NBr, CH2Cl2-H2O, reflux) were used [22], the reaction proceeded very slowly
and the decomposed bromoglycoside was the main by-product mixed with the desired compound. As
improvements, the solvent dichloromethane was replaced by chloroform and the turbid system was
heated up to 50°C and stirred vigorously to successfully give the glycosylation products. All the
benzoyl groups on the sugar parts were removed by NaOMe/MeOH, while the acyl glycoside linkages
were not affected under these conditions. By this approach, glycosides 9a and 9b were synthesized
once more in higher yields of 80% and 78%. Furthermore, other two 28-glycosides (12b, 12c) were
readily prepared from OA in 74% and 70% yields, respectively. Understandably, due to the relatively
less efficiency of Schmidt glycosylation of carboxylic acid and low selectivity in the deprotection in
the first approach, the second approach was more preferable for the preparation of OA 28-glycosides.
3. Preparation of OA 3,28-diglycosides
Many natural occurring saponins of OA with important biological activities are 3,28-diglycosides.
Two approaches were also investigated in the preparation of this type of structures. The first approach
was to introduce one saccharide moiety at C(3)-OH after protection of COOH(28) with benzyl, and to
attach another saccharide moiety to the carboxylic acid after removal of the benzyl. The second
approach was to introduce one saccharide to COOH(28) using a bromoglycoside under alkaline
conditions, then C(3)-OH was to be glycosylated with a trichloroacetimidate. In the present work,
intermediates 5 and 11 in the preparation of 3-glycosides and 28-glycosides were utilized in the
synthesis of OA 3,28-diglycosides through these two approaches, respectively.
Scheme 4. Synthesis of OA 3,28-diglycosides (the first approach).
O
CCl3
R
NH
COOR2
3a R = P1
COOH
a
R1O
RO
13a R1=P2, R2=P1; 13b R1=P4, R2=P1
14a R1=S2, R2=S1; 14b R1=S4, R2=S1
5b R = P2; 5d R = P4
b
Reagents and conditions: (a) TMSOTf, 4 Å MS, CH2Cl2, 0°C~rt; (b) NaOMe, CH2Cl2-MeOH, rt.
As shown in Scheme 4, 3-O-(2,3,4,6-tetra-O-benzoyl-β-D-galactopyranosyl)oleanolic acid (5b) was
subjected to Schmidt glycosylation with trichloroacetimidate 3a to give the full protected 3,28-
diglycoside 13a, which was then treated with NaOMe-MeOH to afford target product β-D-

Molecules 2008, 13
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glucopyranosyl oleanolate 3-O-β-D-galactopyranoside (14a). According to the same procedure, β-D-
glucopyranosyl oleanolate 3-O-α-L-arabinopyranoside (14b) was prepared from intermediate 5d.
In the second approach, the intermediate 2,3,4-tri-O-benzoyl-β-D-xylopyranosyl oleanolate (11b)
was subjected to Schmidt glycosylation with 3b to introduce a galactose residue to the free C(3)-OH
(Scheme 5). Removal of benzoyl groups afforded target β-D-xylopyranosyl oleanolate 3-O-β-D-
galactopyranoside (16a). According to the same procedure, α-D-glucopyranosyl-(1→4)-β-D-
glucopyranosyl oleanolate 3-O-β-D-xylopyranoside (16b) was synthesized from intermediate 11c and
trichloroacetimidate 3c.
Scheme 5. Synthesis of OA 3,28-diglycosides (the second approach).
O
CCl3
NH
R
COOR2
3b R=P2
3c R=P3
COOR
R1O
a
HO
15a R1=P2, R2=P3; 15b R1=P3, R2=P6
16a R1=S2, R2=S3; 16b R1=S3, R2=S6
11b R=P3; 11c R=P6
b
Reagents and conditions: (a) TMSOTf, 4 Å MS, CH2Cl2, rt; (b) NaOMe, CH2Cl2-MeOH, rt.
It is obvious that the second approach to 3,28-diglycosides is preferable to the first one, not only
due to its conciseness in avoiding introduction and removal of benzyl group, but also because alkaline-
promoted condensation was more efficient in the glycosylation of carboxylic acid. However, the first
approach also affords good yields and it is applicable in certain cases. For instance, in the synthesis of
glycoside analogues with the same 3-O-saccharide moiety, or in preparation of glycosides in large
amounts, it can make use of various intermediates with free carboxylic acids.
The 15 glycosides prepared in the present work and the overall yields from OA are listed in Table 1.
All glycosidic linkages formed in the glycosylation are 1,2-trans-, due to the neighboring participating
effect of benzoyl at C(2)-OH of saccharide donors, which can also be confirmed by the J values of
1
hydrogen on the anomeric carbon of the saccharide moiety. In H-NMR spectra of the synthetic
saponins, the 1,2-trans- configuration of the anomeric carbons of all glucosyl, gallactosyl, arabinosyl
and xylosyl units were determined by the JH1-H2 values (above 6.0 Hz), while the JH1-H2 values (1.0-1.5
Hz) of all rhamnosyl units indicated the alpha-configuration of their anomeric carbons. For compound
6a, its 7.7 Hz J value of the hydrogen on anomeric carbon with characterized 4.93 ppm chemical shift
indicates that two hydrogens on C(1') and C(2') of glucose are 1,2-trans-configuration. And in the case
of 9b, its 1.4 Hz J value of the hydrogen on anomeric carbon (5.43 ppm) also indicates that two
hydrogens on C(1') and C(2') of rhamnose are 1,2-trans-configuration.

Molecules 2008, 13
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Table 1. OA glycosides and overall yields from OA.
C(3)
C(28)
Total yield
Literature
Compound
6a
saccharide
β-D-Glc
saccharide
from OA
yield
H
58%
25% [17]
36% [11]
24% [17]
26% [17]
25% [17]
4.0% [13]
6b
6c
6d
6e
β-D-Gal
β-D-Xyl
H
H
H
H
55%
71%
76%
75%
α-L-Ara
β-D-Gal-(1→4)-
β-D-Glc
6f
α-D-Glc-(1→4)-
β-D-Glc
H
69%
–
6g
9a
α-L-Rha
H
79%
18% (Scheme 2)
80% (Scheme 3)
74%
–
not presented
[25]
H
β-D-Gal
12b
12c
H
H
β-D-Xyl
α-D-Glc-(1→4)-
β-D-Glc
54% [10]
–
70%
9b
H
α-L-Rha
21% (Scheme 2)
–
78% (Scheme 3)
14a
14b
16a
16b
β-D-Gal
α-L-Ara
β-D-Gal
β-D-Xyl
β-D-Glc
β-D-Glc
28%
54%
66%
44%
–
–
–
–
β-D-Xyl
α-D-Glc-(1→4)-
β-D-Glc
Conclusions
In conclusion, 15 OA glycosides, including 3-monoglycosides, 28-monoglycosides and 3,28-
diglycosides, were easily synthesized in high yields. This method is suitable for preparing OA
glycosides on a large scale and analogues for extensive biological evaluation, mechanism research and
structure-activity relationship study. Moreover, this work may also provide an efficient method in
preparing glycoside derivatives of other pentacyclic triterpenoid carboxylic acids, such as ursolic acid,
glyrrhetinic acid and boswellic acid. Related work in this field is currently in progress and will be
reported in due course.
Experimental
General
Commercial reagents were used without further treatment unless specialized. Solvents were dried
and distilled prior to use in the usual way. Boiling range of petroleum ether was 60~90°C. Analytical
TLC was performed with silica gel GF254. Preparation column chromatography was performed with
silica gel H. Saccharide donors (trichloroacetimidates and bromoglycosides) were prepared according
to the reported methods [16, 25, 26]. 1H-NMR and 13C-NMR spectra were recorded on a Bruker ARX

Molecules 2008, 13
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300 MHz instrument. J values were given in Hz. ESI-MS were obtained on an Agilent 1100 mass
spectrometer. HRMS was detected on High resolution ESI-FTICR mass spectrometry (Ion spec 7.0T).
Synthesis of OA 3-glycosides 6a~6g
Benzyl oleanolate (2).
A suspension of OA (5.00 g, 10.9 mmol), BnBr (2.10 mL, 17.5 mmol) and K2CO3 (3.00 g, 21.8
mmol) in THF-H2O (40:1, 82 mL) was stirred overnight at rt. The mixture was then filtered, and the
filtrate was concentrated under vacuum and purified through a silica gel column chromatography (8:1,
petroleum ether-EtOAc) to give 2 (5.84 g, 98%) as a white amorphous solid. The physical data agreed
with that previously reported [19].
Oleanolic acid 3-O-α-L-arabinopyranoside (6d)
Benzyl ester 2 (200 mg, 0.366 mmol), trichloroacetimidate 3d (244 mg, 0.402 mmol) and
powdered 4 Å molecular sieves (500 mg) were stirred for 30 min at rt in dry CH2Cl2 (6 mL). A
solution of TMSOTf in dry CH2Cl2 (1%, 0.35 mL) was added dropwise. The mixture was stirred for 20
min followed by addition of Et3N (0.10 mL) and filtration. The filtrate was concentrated and purified
by a silica gel column chromatography (8:1, petroleum ether-EtOAc) to afford benzyl oleanolate 3-O-
(2,3,4-tri-O-benzoyl-α-L-arabinopyranoside) (4d) (330 mg, 91%) as a white amorphous solid. Rf =
0.65 (4:1, petroleum ether-EtOAc); 1H-NMR (CDCl3) δ 8.09-7.26 (m, 20H, H-C(Ar)), 5.75 (dd, J=8.8,
6.5, 1H, H-C(2')), 5.67 (m, 1H, H-C(4')), 5.59 (dd, J=8.9, 3.5, 1H, H-C(3')), 5.30 (t, J=3.0, 1H, H-
C(12)), 5.06 (dd, J=19.9, 12.6, 2H, PhCH2), 4.79 (d, J=6.6, 1H, H-C(1')), 4.33 (dd, J=12.9, 3.8, 1H,
H-C(5')-1), 3.87 (m, 1H, H-C(5')-2), 3.16 (dd, J=11.0, 4.9, 1H, H-C(3)), 2.90 (dd, J=10.1, 3.2, 1H, H-
C(18)), 1.11, 0.92, 0.90, 0.86, 0.79, 0.66, 0.58 (s, 7×3H, CH3); ESI-MS: 1013.5 [(M+Na)+].
A suspension of 4d (200 mg, 0.202 mmol) and 10% Pd-C (32 mg) in EtOAc (8 mL) was refluxed
and bubbled up with H2 (20 mL/min) for 3 h. The mixture was then filtered and the filtrate was
concentrated to dryness to afford oleanolic acid 3-O-(2,3,4-tri-O-benzoyl-α-L-arabinopyranoside) (5d)
(180 mg, 99%) as a white amorphous solid. Rf = 0.36 (3:1, petroleum ether-EtOAc); 1H-NMR (CDCl3)
δ 8.07-7.18 (m, 15H, H-C(Ar)), 5.77 (dd, 1H, J=8.8, 6.4, H-C(2')), 5.67 (m, 1H, H-C(4')), 5.59 (dd,
1H, J=8.8, 3.5, H-C(3')), 5.26 (br s, 1H, H-C(12)), 4.78 (d, 1H, J=6.3, H-C(1')), 4.33 (dd, 1H, J=13.0,
3.9, H-C(5')-1), 3.87 (dd, 1H, J=13.0, 1.9, H-C(5')-2), 3.16 (dd, 1H, J=11.1, 4.8, H-C(3)), 2.80 (dd,
1H, J=9.9, 2.6, H-C(18)), 1.10, 0.92, 0.90, 0.87, 0.77, 0.70, 0.62 (s, 7×3H, CH3); ESI-MS: 918.8
[(M+NH4)+].
Compound 5d (84 mg, 0.093 mmol) was suspended in dry MeOH (5 mL), to which a freshly
prepared solution of NaOMe in MeOH (1.0 M, 0.40 mL) was added. The mixture was stirred at rt
overnight and then neutralized with Dowex H+ resin to pH 7 and filtered. The filtrate was concentrated
and purified with a silica gel column chromatography (9:1, CHCl3-MeOH) to give oleanolic acid 3-O-
α-L-arabinopyranoside (6d) (47 mg, 85%) as a white powder. Rf = 0.56 (5:1, CHCl3-MeOH); 1H-NMR
(pyridine-d5) δ 5.47 (br s, 1H, H-C(12)), 4.77 (d, 1H, J=7.0, H-C(1')), 4.43 (t, 1H, J=8.7), 4.31 (m,
2H), 4.16 (dd, 1H, J=8.7, 3.1), 3.83 (m, 1H), 3.37-3.27 (m, 2H, H-C(3), H-C(18)), 1.29, 1.27, 1.00,
0.99, 0.94, 0.93, 0.83 (s, 7×3H, CH3); 13C-NMR (pyridine-d5) δ 180.2, 144.8, 122.6, 107.6, 88.7, 74.7,

Molecules 2008, 13
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73.0, 69.6, 66.9, 55.9, 48.1, 46.7, 46.5, 42.2, 42.0, 39.8, 39.6, 38.8, 37.0, 34.2, 33.3, 33.2, 33.2, 31.0,
28.2, 28.2, 26.7, 26.2, 23.8, 23.8, 23.7, 18.5, 17.4, 16.9, 15.5; ESI-MS: 611.5 [(M+Na)+], 627.3
[(M+K)+]. HRMS: m/z 587.3962 [M-H]- ([C35H55O7] = 587.3953).
Compounds 6a~6c and 6e~6g were prepared according to the same procedure described for 6d.
1
Oleanolic acid 3-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (6a). Rf = 0.39 (5:1, CHCl3-MeOH); H-NMR (pyridine-d5)
δ 5.44 (br s, 1H, H-C(12)), 4.93 (d, 1H, J=7.7, H-C(1')), 4.57 (br d, 1H, J=11.3), 4.43 (m, 1H), 4.25
(m, 2H), 4.01 (m, 2H), 3.46 (dd, 1H, J=12.5, 2.2, H-C(18)), 3.37 (dd, 1H, J=8.0, 2.4, H-C(3)), 1.31,
1.30, 1.01, 0.98, 0.93, 0.91, 0.80 (s, 7×3H, CH3); 13C-NMR (pyridine-d5) δ 180.2, 145.4, 122.4, 107.0,
88.8, 78.8, 78.5, 78.4, 71.8, 63.0, 55.8, 48.0, 46.8, 46.7, 42.2, 42.1, 39.7, 39.5, 38.7, 37.0, 34.4, 33.4,
33.3, 33.0, 31.1, 30.0, 29.9, 28.3, 26.2, 23.9, 23.9, 23.8, 18.5, 17.5, 17.1, 15.5; ESI-MS: 641.4
[(M+Na)+], 653.4 [(M+Cl)-]. HRMS: m/z 617.4071 [M-H]- ([C36H57O8] = 617.4059).
Oleanolic acid 3-O-β-D-galactopyranoside (6b). Rf = 0.40 (5:1, CHCl3-MeOH); 1H-NMR (DMSO-d6)
δ12.07 (s, 1H, COOH), 5.16 (br s, 1H, H-C(12)), 4.75, 4.64, 4.52, 4.33 (br s, 4×1H, OH), 4.11 (d, 1H,
J=6.4, H-C(1')), 3.62 (br s, 1H), 3.52 (m, 1H), 3.43 (m, 1H), 3.29-3.25 (m, 3H), 3.03 (br d, J=7.8, H-
C(3)), 2.74 (br d, 1H, J=10.6, H-C(18)), 1.10 (s, 3H, CH3), 0.98 (s, 3H, CH3), 0.88 (s, 9H, 3×CH3),
13
0.76 (s, 3H, CH3), 0.72 (s, 3H, CH3); C-NMR (DMSO-d6) δ 178.7, 143.9, 121.6, 106.2, 88.0, 75.0,
73.7, 71.2, 68.2, 60.4, 55.1, 47.2, 45.8, 45.6, 41.4, 40.9, 38.7, 38.3, 38.2, 36.4, 33.4, 32.9, 32.5, 32.2,
30.5, 27.8, 27.3, 25.7, 25.6, 23.5, 23.0, 22.7, 17.9, 16.9, 16.6, 15.2; ESI-MS: 641.4 [(M+Na)+]. HRMS:
m/z 617.4062 [M-H]- ([C36H57O8] = 617.4059).
1
Oleanolic acid 3-O-β-D-xylopyranoside (6c). Rf = 0.69 (5:1, CHCl3-MeOH); H-NMR (pyridine-d5) δ
5.45 (br s, 1H, H-C(12)), 4.84 (d, 1H, J=7.5, H-C(1')), 4.39 (dd, 1H, J=11.2, 4.9), 4.25-4.15 (m, 2H),
4.03 (t, 1H, J=7.8), 3.79 (t, 1H, J=10.4), 3.44 (br d, 1H, J=10.3, H-C(18)), 3.35 (dd, 1H, J=11.2, 3.8,
13
H-C(3)), 1.31, 1.30, 1.02, 0.98, 0.95, 0.94, 0.85 (s, 7×3H, CH3); C-NMR (pyridine-d5) δ 180.4,
144.9, 122.5, 107.7, 88.6, 78.7, 75.6, 71.3, 67.2, 55.9, 48.1, 46.7, 46.5, 42.2, 42.0, 39.7, 39.6, 38.8,
37.0, 34.3, 33.3, 33.3, 33.2, 31.0, 28.3, 28.2, 26.8, 26.2, 23.8, 23.8, 23.7, 18.5, 17.4, 17.0, 15.5; ESI-
MS: 611.5 [(M+Na)+]. HRMS: m/z 587.3953 [M-H]- ([C35H55O7] = 587.3953).
Oleanolic acid 3-O-β-D-galactopyranosyl-(1→4)-β-D-glucopyranoside (6e). Rf = 0.16 (4:1, CHCl3-
1
MeOH); H-NMR (DMSO-d6) 5.16 (br s, 1H, H-C(12)), 4.23-4.21 (m, 2H, H-C(1'), H-C(1'')), 3.73-
3.69 (br d, 1H, J=11.0), 3.61-3.44 (m, 5H), 3.33-3.25 (m, 5H), 3.04-3.01 (m, 2H, H-C(2'), H-C(3)),
2.73 (dd, 1H, J=12.8, 3.4, H-C(18)), 1.09 (s, 3H, CH3), 0.98 (s, 3H, CH3), 0.87 (s, 9H, 3×CH3), 0.75
(s, 3H, CH3), 0.71 (s, 3H, CH3); 13C-NMR (DMSO-d6) δ 178.8, 144.0, 121.7, 105.3, 104.1, 88.3, 81.3,
75.6, 75.2, 74.7, 73.7, 73.3, 70.7, 68.2, 60.8, 60.5, 55.2, 47.3, 45.9, 45.6, 41.5, 40.9, 38.8, 38.7, 38.3,
36.5, 33.5, 33.0, 32.6, 32.3, 30.6, 27.8, 27.4, 25.8, 25.8, 23.5, 23.1, 22.8, 18.0, 17.0, 16.7, 15.3; ESI-
MS: 781.0 [(M+H)+], 798.0 [(M+NH4)+]. HRMS: m/z 779.4580 [M-H]- ([C42H67O13] = 779.4587).
Oleanolic acid 3-O-α-D-glucopyranosyl-(1→4)-β-D-glucopyranoside (6f). Rf = 0.13 (4:1, CHCl3-
1
MeOH); H-NMR (pyridine-d5) δ 5.78 (d, 1H, J=3.5, H-C(1'')), 5.50 (br s, 1H, H-C(12)), 5.32 (br d,

Molecules 2008, 13
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1H, J=11.5), 5.08 (dd, 1H, J=9.5, 5.6), 4.82 (d, 1H, J=7.7, H-C(1')), 4.63-4.50 (m, 3H), 4.43-4.31 (m,
2H), 4.24-4.04 (m, 5H), 3.28 (m, 2H, H-C(3), H-C(18)), 1.29, 1.25, 1.01, 0.96, 0.95, 0.90, 0.76 (s,
13
7×3H, CH3); C-NMR (pyridine-d5) δ 180.2, 144.9, 122.6, 106.8, 103.8, 89.6, 82.9, 77.9, 75.6, 75.4,
74.9, 74.4, 73.3, 71.6, 65.1, 62.5, 55.9, 48.0, 46.7, 46.5, 42.2, 42.0, 39.7, 39.4, 38.5, 36.9, 34.3, 33.3,
33.2, 33.2, 31.0, 28.3, 28.2, 26.5, 26.3, 23.8, 23.8, 23.7, 18.5, 17.4, 16.9, 15.4; ESI-MS: 779.2 [(M-H)-
], 803.4 [(M+Na)+]. HRMS: m/z 779.4584 [M-H]- ([C42H67O13] = 779.4587).
Oleanolic acid 3-O-α-L-rhamnopyranoside (6g). Rf = 0.80 (5:1, CHCl3-MeOH); 1H-NMR (DMSO-d6)
δ 12.05 (s, 1H, COOH), 5.16 (br s, 1H, H-C(12)), 4.70 (m, 2H, H-C(1'), OH), 4.58 (s, 1H, OH), 4.52
(d, 1H, J=5.8, OH), 3.62 (br s, 1H), 3.49 (m, 1H), 3.40 (m, 1H), 3.17 (m, 1H), 3.01 (dd, 1H, J=9.7,
3.0, H-C(3)), 2.74 (br d, 1H, J=10.8, H-C(18)), 1.10 (s, 3H, CH3), 1.09 (s, 3H, CH3), 0.87 (s, 9H,
13
3×CH3), 0.72 (s, 6H, 2×CH3); C-NMR (DMSO-d6) δ 178.7, 143.9, 121.6, 103.0, 87.6, 72.2, 70.8,
70.8, 68.6, 54.7, 47.1, 45.8, 45.5, 41.4, 40.9, 38.8, 38.6, 37.9, 36.4, 33.4, 32.9, 32.4, 32.2, 30.5, 28.0,
27.3, 25.7, 25.0, 23.5, 23.0, 22.7, 17.9, 17.8, 16.9, 16.5, 15.2; ESI-MS: 637.6 [(M+Cl)-]. HRMS: m/z
601.4104 [M-H]- ([C36H57O7] = 601.4110).
Synthesis of OA 28-glycosides 9a~9b, approach 1: β-D-galactopyranosyl oleanolate (9a)
Ac2O (18.9 mL) was added dropwise to a solution of OA (9.14 g, 20 mmol) in dry pyridine (38
mL) at 0°C under stirring. To the mixture was added DMAP (244 mg, 2 mmol) and the mixture was
allowed to warm up to rt and stirred overnight. Water (15 mL) was added to quench the reaction. The
mixture was then concentrated in vacuum and the residue was dissolved in CH2Cl2 (150 mL) and
washed with 5% HCl, saturated NaHCO3 and brine in sequence. The solution was dried over Na2SO4.
Recrystallization with MeOH-CH2Cl2 gave oleanolic acid 3-acetate (7) (7.66 g, 77%) as a white
1
powder. Rf = 0.78 (3:1, petroleum ether-EtOAc); H-NMR (CDCl3) δ 5.27 (br s, 1H, H-C(12)), 4.49
(dd, 1H, J=8.2, 7.5, H-C(3)), 2.82 (br d, 1H, J=10.0, H-C(18)), 2.05 (s, 3H, Ac), 1.12, 0.94, 0.93,
0.90, 0.86, 0.85, 0.74 (s, 7×3H, CH3); ESI-MS: 521.8 [(M+Na)+].
A suspension of 7 (250 mg, 0.501 mmol), 3b (480 mg, 0.648 mmol) and powdered 4 Å molecular
sieves (800 mg) in dry CH2Cl2 (8 mL) were stirred for 30 min at 0°C. TMSOTf (40 μL) was added and
the mixture was stirred for 20 min before Et3N (0.15 mL) was added to quench the reaction. The
mixture was then filtered and the filtrate was concentrated and purified by a silica gel column
chromatography (7:1, petroleum ether-EtOAc) to afford 3-O-acetyloleanolic acid 2,3,4,6-tetra-O-
benzoyl-β-D-galactopyranosyl ester (8a) (391 mg, 72%) as a white amorphous solid. Rf = 0.70 (4:1,
1
petroleum ether-EtOAc); H-NMR (CDCl3) δ 8.10-7.21 (m, 20H, H-C(Ar)), 6.02 (d, 1H, J=3.3), 5.93
(m, 2H), 5.73 (m, 1H), 5.31 (br s, 1H, H-C(12)), 4.62 (dd, 1H, J=10.6, 6.1), 4.46-4.33 (m, 3H), 2.82
(dd, 1H, J=11.8, 2.1, H-C(18)), 2.04 (s, 3H, Ac), 0.97, 0.88, 0.85, 0.83, 0.82, 0.81, 0.49 (s, 7×3H,
CH3); ESI-MS: 1099.8 [(M+Na)+].
8a (94 mg, 0.087 mmol) was dissolved in dry MeOH (8 ml), to which a freshly prepared solution of
NaOMe in MeOH (1.0 M, 1.60 mL) was added. The mixture was stirred at rt for 12 h and then
neutralized with Dowex H+ resin to pH 7 and filtered. The filtrate was concentrated and purified with a
silica gel column chromatography (10:1, CHCl3-MeOH) to give β-D-galactopyranosyl oleanolate (9a)
(17 mg, 32%) as a white powder. Rf = 0.43 (8:1, CHCl3-MeOH); 1H-NMR (pyridine-d5) δ 6.27 (d, 1H,

Molecules 2008, 13
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J=8.0, H-C(1')), 5.44 (br s, 1H, H-C(12)), 4.69-4.64 (m, 2H), 4.48 (m, 1H), 4.40 (m, 1H), 4.21 (m, 2H),
3.43 (dd, 1H, J=9.5, 5.6, H-C(3)), 3.19 (br d, 1H, J=11.1, H-C(18)), 1.21, 1.21, 1.14, 1.02, 0.91, 0.88,
13
0.86 (s, 7×3H, CH3); C-NMR (pyridine-d5) δ 176.0, 143.7, 122.4, 95.8, 77.6, 77.3, 75.2, 71.0, 69.6,
61.4, 55.3, 47.7, 46.5, 45.7, 41.6, 41.3, 39.4, 38.9, 38.5, 36.9, 33.5, 32.7, 32.7, 32.0, 30.3, 28.3, 27.8,
27.6, 25.6, 23.4, 23.2, 22.8, 18.3, 17.0, 16.1, 15.2; ESI-MS: 641.4 [(M+Na)+]. HRMS: m/z 617.4058
[M-H]- ([C36H57O8] = 617.4059).
α-L-Rhamnopyranosyl oleanolate (9b)
This compound was prepared according to the same procedure described for 9a. Rf =0.60 (8:1,
1
CHCl3-MeOH); H-NMR (pyridine-d5) δ 6.79 (s, 1H, J=1.4, H-C(1')), 5.43 (br s, 1H, H-C(12)), 4.58
(m, 1H), 4.51 (dd, 1H, J=8.6, 3.1), 4.41-4.36 (m, 2H), 3.44 (dd, 1H, J=9.4, 6.1, H-C(3)), 3.14 (br d,
1H, J=10.2, H-C(18)), 1.70 (d, 3H, J=5.4, H-C(6')), 1.23, 1.20, 1.04, 1.02, 0.90, 0.90, 0.86 (s, 7×3H,
CH3); 13C-NMR (pyridine-d5) δ 175.9, 143.9, 122.6, 95.4, 78.1, 73.4, 72.9, 72.6, 71.6, 55.8, 48.0, 47.4,
46.0, 42.2, 42.1, 39.8, 39.4, 39.0, 37.4, 33.9, 33.3, 33.1, 33.0, 30.9, 28.8, 28.1, 28.0, 26.0, 23.9, 23.6,
23.3, 18.8, 18.8, 17.7, 16.6, 15.6; ESI-MS: 637.6 [(M+Cl)-]. HRMS: m/z 601.4105 [M-H]- ([C36H57O7]
= 601.4110).
Synthesis of OA 28-glycosides 12a~12d, approach 2: β-D-xylopyranosyl oleanolate (12b)
OA (100 mg, 0.219 mmol), benzoylbromoglycoside 10b (138 mg, 0.263 mmol), and Bu4NBr (4
mg) were dissolved in CHCl3 (4.0 mL); K2CO3 (152 mg) was dissolved in water (1.5 mL). The two
solutions were mixed together and stirred vigorously at 50°C for 2.5 h. The organic layer was
separated and diluted with CHCl3 (10 mL) and washed by water (10 mL × 2) and concentrated to give
a brown residue, which was subjected to a column chromatography (2:1, petroleum ether-EtOAc) to
afford oleanolic acid 2,3,4-tri-O-benzoyl-β-D-xylopyranosyl ester (11b) (183 mg, 92%) as a white
1
foam. Rf = 0.32 (3:1, petroleum-EtOAc); H-NMR (CDCl3) δ 8.01-7.32 (m, 15H, H-C(Ar)), 5.89 (m,
2H), 5.63 (dd, 1H, J=8.8, 7.4), 5.40 (td, 1H, J=8.8, 5.2), 5.28 (t, 1H, J=3.3, H-C(12)), 4.42 (dd, 1H,
J=11.9, 5.1), 3.74 (dd, 1H, J=11.9, 8.9), 3.16 (dd, 1H, J=11.1, 4.2, H-C(3)), 2.81 (dd, 1H, J=13.4, 3.8,
H-C(18)), 0.97, 0.95, 0.87, 0.85, 0.84, 0.76, 0.49 (s, 7×3H, CH3); ESI-MS: 918.8 [(M+NH4)+].
Compound 11b (190 mg, 0.211 mmol) was dissolved in dry CH2Cl2-MeOH (1:2, 6 mL) and a
freshly prepared solution of NaOMe in MeOH (1.0 M, 0.50 mL) was added. The mixture was stirred at
rt for 2 h and then neutralized with Dowex H+ resin to pH 7 and filtered. The filtrate was concentrated
and purified with a silica gel column chromatography (12:1, CHCl3-MeOH) to give β-D-xylopyranosyl
1
oleanolate (12b) (100 mg, 80%) as a white powder. Rf = 0.50 (10:1, CHCl3-MeOH); H-NMR
(pyridine-d5) δ 6.24 (d, 1H, J=6.7, H-C(1')), 5.46 (br s, 1H, H-C(12)), 4.38 (dd, 1H, J=11.7, 4.4), 4.22
(m, 3H), 3.83 (m, 1H), 3.43 (m, 1H, H-C(3)), 3.25 (dd, 1H, J=11.8, 2.6, H-C(18)), 1.23 (s, 6H,
2×CH3), 1.10, 1.02, 0.92 (s, 3×3H, CH3), 0.90 (s, 6H, 2×CH3); 13C-NMR (pyridine-d5) δ 176.6, 144.1,
123.0, 96.3, 78.4, 78.1, 73.7, 70.9, 67.8, 55.8, 48.1, 47.2, 46.2, 42.2, 41.7, 39.9, 39.4, 38.9, 37.4, 34.0,
33.2, 33.1, 32.8, 30.8, 28.8, 28.3, 28.1, 26.1, 23.8, 23.6, 23.4, 18.8, 17.5, 16.6, 15.6; ESI-MS: 611.5
[(M+Na)+]. HRMS: m/z 587.3950 [M-H]- ([C35H55O7] = 587.3953).
β-D-Galactopyranosyl oleanolate (9a), α-D-glucopyranosyl-(1→4)-β-D-glucopyranosyl oleanolate
(12c) and α-L-rhamnopyranosyl oleanolate (9b) were also prepared according to the same procedure

Molecules 2008, 13
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described for 12b. The analytical data of 9a and 9b were identical to that of 9a and 9b prepared by
approach 1.
1
α-D-Glucopyranosyl-(1→4)-β-D-glucopyranosyl oleanolate (12c). Rf = 0.23 (4:1, CHCl3-MeOH); H-
NMR (pyridine-d5) δ 6.23 (d, 1H, J=8.0, H-C(1')), 5.95 (d, 1H, J=3.2, H-C(1'')), 5.44 (br s, 1H, H-
C(12)), 4.61-4.53 (m, 3H), 4.49 (m, 2H), 4.41-4.32 (m, 3H), 4.20-4.15 (m, 3H), 3.87 (br d, 1H, J=8.8),
3.43 (m, 1H, H-C(3)), 3.19 (br d, 1H, J=10.4, H-C(18)), 1.22 (s, 6H, 2×CH3), 1.10, 1.02 (s, 2×3H,
13
CH3), 0.90 (s, 6H, 2×CH3), 0.88 (s, 3H, CH3); C-NMR (pyridine-d5) δ 176.4, 144.1, 123.2, 103.1,
95.5, 80.6, 78.3, 78.1, 77.6, 75.5, 75.4, 74.4, 73.6, 71.9, 62.7, 61.4, 55.8, 48.2, 47.0, 46.2, 42.2, 41.8,
39.9, 39.4, 39.0, 37.4, 34.0, 33.2, 33.2, 32.6, 30.8, 28.8, 28.3, 28.1, 26.1, 23.9, 23.7, 23.4, 18.8, 17.5,
16.6, 15.7; ESI-MS: 779.2 [(M-H)-]. HRMS: m/z 779.4585 [M-H]- ([C42H67O13] = 779.4587).
Synthesis of OA 3,28-diglycosides 14a~14b, approach 1: β-D-glucopyranosyl oleanolate 3-O-α-L-
arabinopyranoside (14b).
A mixture of intermediate 5d (290 mg, 0.322 mmol), trichloroacetimidate 3a (286 mg, 0.386
mmol) and powdered 4 Å molecular sieves (1 g) in dry CH2Cl2 (8 mL) were stirred for 30 min at 0°C.
A solution of TMSOTf in dry CH2Cl2 (5%, 0.50 mL) was added dropwise and the mixture was
warmed to rt and stirred for 45 min before quenching the reaction with Et3N (0.10 mL). The mixture
was then filtered and the filtrate was concentrated and purified by a silica gel column chromatography
(3:1, petroleum ether-EtOAc) to afford 2,3,4,6-tetra-O-benzoyl-β-D-glucopyranosyl oleanolate 3-O-
(2,3,4-tri-O-benzoyl-α-L-arabinopyranoside) (13b) (438 mg, 92%) as a white powder. Rf = 0.22 (3:1,
1
petroleum ether-EtOAc); H-NMR δ: (CDCl3) δ 8.08-7.25 (m, 35H, H-C(Ar)), 5.96 (dd, 1H, J=19.2,
9.7), 5.93 (d, 1H, J=8.3, H-C(1'')), 5.78-5.66 (m, 4H), 5.58 (dd, 1H, J=8.9, 3.4), 5.27 (br s, 1H, H-
C(12)), 4.75 (d, 1H, J=6.5, H-C(1')), 4.56-4.43 (m, 2H), 4.34-4.23 (m, 2H), 3.86 (br d, 1H, J=11.6),
3.10 (dd, 1H, J=11.1, 4.8, H-C(3)), 2.77 (br d, 1H, J=10.9, H-C(18)), 0.93, 0.85, 0.82, 0.73, 0.73,
0.62, 0.41 (s, 7×3H, CH3); ESI-MS: 1501.9 [(M+Na)+].
Compound 13b (396 mg, 0.268 mmol) was dissolved in dry CH2Cl2-MeOH (1:2, 30 mL), to which
a freshly prepared solution of NaOMe in MeOH (1.0 M, 1.20 ml) was added. The mixture was stirred
at rt for 3 h and then neutralized with Dowex H+ resin to pH 7. The resin was then removed by
filtration. Recrystallization with MeOH-Et2O furnished β-D-glucopyranosyl oleanolate 3-O-α-L-
1
arabinopyranoside (14b) (133 mg, 66%) as a white powder. Rf = 0.46 (4:1, CHCl3-MeOH); H-NMR
(pyridine-d5) δ 6.33 (d, 1H, J=7.9, H-C(1'')), 5.42 (br s, 1H, H-C(12)), 4.75 (d, 1H, J=7.1, H-C(1')),
4.45-4.37 (m, 4H), 4.33-4.28 (m, 3H), 4.17-4.13 (m, 2H), 4.03 (m, 1H), 3.82 (br d, 1H, J=10.7), 3.34
(m, 1H, H-C(3)), 3.19 (dd, 1H, J=11.9, 2.0, H-C(18)), 1.26, 1.24, 1.09, 0.94, 0.90, 0.88, 0.86 (s, 7×3H,
13
CH3); C-NMR (pyridine-d5) δ 176.4, 144.1, 122.9, 107.5, 95.8, 88.7, 79.3, 78.9, 74.6, 74.2, 72.9,
71.2, 69.5, 66.7, 62.3, 55.9, 48.1, 47.1, 46.3, 42.2, 41.8, 39.9, 39.6, 38.9, 37.1, 34.1, 33.2, 33.1, 32.6,
30.8, 28.3, 28.3, 26.6, 26.1, 23.9, 23.7, 23.5, 18.6, 17.5, 16.9, 15.6; ESI-MS: 785.2 [(M+Cl)-]. HRMS:
m/z 750.4485 [M-H]- ([C41H65O12] = 750.4481).
β-D-Glucopyranosyl oleanolate 3-O-β-D-galactopyranoside (14a).
This substance was prepared according to the same procedure described for 14b. Rf = 0.24 (4:1,
CHCl3-MeOH); 1H-NMR (pyridine-d5) δ 6.36 (d, 1H, J=7.9, H-C(1'')), 5.45 (br s, 1H, H-C(12)), 4.88

Molecules 2008, 13
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(d, 1H, J=7.7, H-C(1')), 4.61 (d, 1H, J=3.2), 4.51-4.43 (m, 5H), 4.37-4.25 (m, 3H), 4.20-4.15 (m, 2H),
4.06 (m, 1H), 3.39 (dd, 1H, J=11.6, 3.6, H-C(3)), 3.22 (dd, 1H, J=13.2, 2.4, H-C(18)), 1.32, 1.29,
1.12, 0.98, 0.93, 0.90, 0.86 (s, 7×3H, CH3); 13C-NMR (pyridine-d5) δ 176.4, 144.2, 122.9, 107.5, 95.8,
88.8, 79.3, 78.9, 76.8, 75.5, 74.2, 73.2, 71.2, 70.3, 62.5, 62.3, 55.9, 48.1, 47.0, 46.3, 42.2, 41.8, 40.0,
39.6, 38.8, 37.0, 34.1, 33.2, 33.2, 32.6, 30.8, 28.3, 28.3, 26.7, 26.2, 23.8, 23.7, 23.5, 18.6, 17.5, 17.0,
15.6; ESI-MS: 781.0 [(M+H)+], 1561.1 [(2M+H)+]. HRMS: m/z 779.4580 [M-H]- ([C42H67O13] =
779.4587).
Synthesis of OA 3,28-diglycosides 16a~16b, approach 2: β-D-xylopyranosyl oleanolate 3-O-β-D-
galactopyranoside (16a).
A mixture of intermediate 11b (600 mg, 0.666 mmol), trichloroacetimidate 3b (570 mg, 0.765
mmol) and powdered 4 Å molecular sieves (600 mg) in dry CH2Cl2 (9 mL) were stirred for 30 min at
rt. A solution of TMSOTf in dry CH2Cl2 (5%, 128 μL) was added dropwise and the mixture was
stirred for 30 min before Et3N (0.40 ml) was added to quench the reaction. The mixture was then
filtered and the filtrate was concentrated and purified by a silica gel column chromatography (3:1,
petroleum ether-EtOAc) to afford 2,3,4-tri-O-benzoyl-β-D-xylopyranosyl oleanolate 3-O-(2,3,4,6-
tetra-O-benzoyl-β-D-galactocopyranoside) (15a) (920 mg, 93.4%) as a white powder. Rf = 0.23 (3:1,
petroleum ether-EtOAc); 1H-NMR (CDCl3) δ 8.12-7.22 (m, 35H, H-C(Ar)), 5.95 (s, 1H, H-C(4')), 5.90
(t, 1H, J=8.8, H-C(2'')), 5.87 (d, 1H, J=7.4, H-C(1'')), 5.83 (t, 1H, J=9.2, H-C(2')), 5.64-5.59 (m, 2H,
H-C(3'), H-C(3'')), 5.40 (m, 1H, H-C(4'')), 5.30 (br s, 1H, H-C(12)), 4.81 (d, 1H, J=7.9, H-C(1')), 4.65
(dd, 1H, J=11.1, 7.7, H-C(6')-1), 4.44-4.41 (m, 2H, H-C(6')-2, H-C(5'')-1), 4.30 (m, 1H, H-C(5')), 3.72
(dd, 1H, J=14.7, 6.8, H-C(5'')-2), 3.09 (dd, 1H, J=11.7, 4.3, H-C(3)), 2.81 (br d, 1H, J=10.8, H-
C(18)), 0.94, 0.88, 0.87, 0.79, 0.67, 0.66, 0.44 (s, 7×3H, CH3); ESI-MS: 1478.0 [(M-H)-], 1501.9
[(M+Na)+].
Compound 15a (340 mg, 0.230 mmol) was dissolved in dry CH2Cl2-MeOH (1:2, 36 mL), to which
a freshly prepared solution of NaOMe in MeOH (1.0 M, 1.60 mL) was added. The solution was stirred
at rt for 12 h and then neutralized with Dowex H+ resin to pH 7. The resin was then removed by
filtration. Recrystallization with MeOH-Et2O furnished β-D-xylopyranosyl oleanolate 3-O-β-D-
1
galactopyranoside (16a) (132 mg, 76.5%) as a white powder. Rf = 0.41 (4:1, CHCl3-MeOH); H-
NMR (pyridine-d5) δ 6.22 (d, 1H, J=6.4, H-C(1'')), 5.43 (br s, 1H, H-C(12)), 4.86 (d, 1H, J=7.6, H-
C(1')), 4.58 (s, 1H, H-C(4')), 4.48-4.42 (m, 3H, H-C(2'), H-C(6')-1, H-C(3'')), 4.36 (dd, 1H, J=11.6,
4.3, H-C(5'')-1), 4.22 (m, 1H, H-C(4'')), 4.21-4.15 (m, 3H, H-C(3'), H-C(6')-2, H-C(2'')), 4.12 (m, 1H,
H-C(5')), 3.80 (m, 1H, H-C(5'')-2), 3.36 (dd, 1H, J=18.7, 6.0, H-C(3)), 3.23 (br d, 1H, J=10.4, H-
C(18)), 1.29, 1.25, 1.06, 0.96, 0.92, 0.90, 0.83 (s, 7×3H, CH3); 13C-NMR (pyridine-d5) δ 176.6, 144.1,
122.9, 107.6, 96.3, 88.7, 78.4, 76.9, 75.5, 73.7, 73.2, 70.9, 70.3, 67.8, 62.5, 55.8, 48.0, 47.1, 46.2, 42.1,
41.7, 39.9, 39.5, 38.7, 36.9, 34.0, 33.1, 33.1, 32.7, 30.8, 28.2, 28.2, 26.7, 26.1, 23.8, 23.6, 23.3, 18.5,
17.5, 17.0, 15.5; ESI-MS: 773.4 [(M+Na)+]. HRMS: m/z 750.4483 [M-H]- ([C41H65O12] = 750.4481).
α-D-Glucopyranosyl-(1→4)-β-D-glucopyranosyl oleanolate 3-O-β-D-xylopyranoside (16b).
This compound was prepared according to the same procedure described for 16a. Rf = 0.19 (4:1,
1
CHCl3-MeOH); H-NMR (pyridine-d5) δ 6.22 (d, 1H, J=8.2, H-C(1'')), 5.94 (d, 1H, J=3.5, H-C(1''')),
5.42 (br s, 1H, H-C(12)), 4.82 (d, 1H, J=7.5, H-C(1')), 4.58-4.53 (m, 3H), 4.45 (m, 2H), 4.37 (m, 3H),

Molecules 2008, 13
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4.33 (t, 1H, J=5.8), 4.22 (m, 1H), 4.17-4.14 (m, 4H), 4.01 (t, 1H, J=8.2), 3.87 (br d, 1H, J=8.2), 3.77
(t, 1H, J=11.5), 3.34 (dd, 1H, J=11.7, 4.2, H-C(3)), 3.17 (dd, 1H, J=10.9, 3.9, H-C(18)), 1.29, 1.25,
13
1.07, 0.98, 0.90, 0.88, 0.86 (s, 7×3H, CH3); C-NMR (pyridine-d5) δ 176.4, 144.1, 123.0, 107.8,
103.1, 95.5, 88.7, 80.6, 78.7, 78.3, 77.6, 75.6, 75.4, 75.4, 74.5, 73.6, 71.9, 71.3, 67.2, 62.8, 61.4, 55.9,
48.1, 47.0, 46.2, 42.2, 41.8, 40.0, 39.6, 38.8, 37.1, 34.0, 33.2, 33.2, 32.6, 30.8, 28.2, 28.2, 26.8, 26.1,
23.9, 23.7, 23.4, 18.5, 17.5, 17.0, 15.6; ESI-MS: 935.5 [(M+Na)+]. HRMS: m/z 911.5011 [M-H]-
([C47H75O17] = 911.5011).
Acknowledgements
The authors thank The National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 20472054, 30772641)
for financial support.
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Sample Availability: Samples are available from the authors.
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