Examination of the petroleum ether extract of Typha elephantine Roxb. Fruits revealed the presence of two long-chain hydrocarbons, pentacosane and 1-triacontanol. The phytosterols, β-sitosterol and β-sitosteryl-3-0-β-D-glucopyranoside were also isolated from the same species in moderate yield. All of the isolated compounds have never been reported as being present in this species before. Physical and chemical properties of these compounds were studied. Another investigation was made on the ethanolic extract from Randia siamensis Craib fruits which exhibits potent ichthyotoxic activities. Attempts of fractionation and purification of this fraction afforded ursine-type sapogenin ursolic acid, oleanene-type saponin pseudoginsenoside-RP1 (3-O- β-GlcUA-(2-1)- β-Xyl of oleanolic acid), pseudoginsenoside-RT1 (3-O- β-GlcUA-(2-1)- β-Xyl of Glucosyl oleanolate) and a novel saponin named siamenoside (3-0- β-GlcUA-(2-1)- β-Xyl-(2-1)-α-Rha of Glucosyl Oleanolate). This is the second report of pseudoginsenoside-RP1 and RT1 from natural source. Structure elucidations have been established through high field proton-nmr, ¹³C—nmr spectroscopy and chemical correlation. A detailed discussion on the elucidation of chemical structures is included.
