Five new polyhydroxylated furostanol saponins from the rhizomes of Tupistra chinensis.

Five new polyhydroxylated furostanol saponins were isolated from the roots and rhizomes of Tupistra chinensis, and their structures were determined as tupistrosides J-N (1-5), together with four known furostanol saponins (6-9), on the basis of physico-chemical properties and spectral analysis. Among them, compounds 3 and 5 showed cytotoxicity against human cancer cell lines SW620 with IC₅₀ values of 72.5 ± 2.4 and 77.3 ± 2.5 μmol·L^-1, respectively. Compound 4 showed cytotoxicity against human cancer cell line HepG2 with IC₅₀ value of 88.6 ± 2.1 μmol·L^-1.