A kuguaglycoside is one of several chemical compounds (cucurbitane triterpenoid glycosides) isolated from the roots of the

bitter melon ''Momordica charantia'' (commonly called bitter melon; Goya; bitter apple; bitter gourd; bitter squash; balsam-pear; with many more names listed below) is a tropical and subtropical vine of the family Cucurbitaceae, widely grown in Asia, Afri ...

vine (''Momordica charantia'', ''kǔguā'' in

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...

) by J.-C. Chen and others.Jian-Chao Chen, Lu Lu, Xian-Ming Zhang, Lin Zhou, Zhong-Rong Li, and Ming-Hua Qiu (2008), "Eight New Cucurbitane Glycosides, Kuguaglycosides A–H, from the Root of ''Momordica charantia'' L.". ''Helvetica Chimica Acta'', volume 91, issue 5, pages 920-928. Kuguaglycosides are

glycoside In chemistry, a glycoside is a molecule in which a sugar is bound to another functional group via a glycosidic bond. Glycosides play numerous important roles in living organisms. Many plants store chemicals in the form of inactive glycosides. ...

s of

triterpene Triterpenes are a class of chemical compounds composed of three terpene units with the molecular formula C30H48; they may also be thought of as consisting of six isoprene units. Animals, plants and fungi all produce triterpenes, including squale ...

derivatives, with the

cucurbitane Cucurbitane is a class of chemical compounds with formula ( CAS number 65441-59-0). It is a polycyclic hydrocarbon, specifically triterpene. It is also an isomer of lanostane (specifically 19(10→9β)-abeolanostane), from which it differs by ...

skeleton. They are colorless solids, soluble in

methanol Methanol (also called methyl alcohol and wood spirit, amongst other names) is an organic chemical and the simplest aliphatic alcohol, with the formula C H3 O H (a methyl group linked to a hydroxyl group, often abbreviated as MeOH). It is a ...

ethyl acetate Ethyl acetate ( systematically ethyl ethanoate, commonly abbreviated EtOAc, ETAC or EA) is the organic compound with the formula , simplified to . This colorless liquid has a characteristic sweet smell (similar to pear drops) and is used in glues ...

, and

butanol Butanol (also called butyl alcohol) is a four-carbon alcohol with a formula of C4 H9 O H, which occurs in five isomeric structures (four structural isomers), from a straight-chain primary alcohol to a branched-chain tertiary alcohol; all are a b ...

. They include: * Kuguaglycoside A: 3β-hydroxy-7β-methoxycucurbita-5,24-dien-23-yl β-glucopyranoside, * Kuguaglycoside B: 3β-hydroxy-25-methoxycucurbita-5,23-dien-7β-yl β-glucopyranoside, * Kuguaglycoside C: 7β-(β-glucopyranosyloxy)-3β-hydroxycucurbita-5,23,25-trien-19-al, (colorless needles) * Kuguaglycoside D: 3β,19,23-trihydroxycucurbita-5,24-dien-7β-yl β-glucopyranoside, * Kuguaglycoside E: 23-(β-glucopyranosyloxy)-3β,19-dihydroxycucurbita-5,24-dien-7β-yl β-glucopyranoside, * Kuguaglycoside F: 23-(β-glucopyranosyloxy)-7β-methoxycucurbita-5,24-dien-3β-yl β-allopyranoside, * Kuguaglycoside G: 23-(β-glucopyranosyloxy)-3β-hydroxycucurbita-5,24-dien-7β-yl β-glucopyranoside, * Kuguaglycoside H: 23-(β-glucopyranosyl(1→2)-β-glucopyranosyl)-3β-hydroxycucurbita-5,24-dien-7β-yl β-glucopyranoside, (colorless needles) Kuguaglycoside B is also found in the fruit of ''M. charantia''.Jie-Qing Liu, Jian-Chao Chen, Cui-Fang Wang and Ming-Hua Qiu (2009), "New Cucurbitane Triterpenoids and Steroidal Glycoside from ''Momordica charantia''". ''Molecules'', volume 14, pages 4804-4813

References

Triterpene glycosides {{Chemistry index