A potent anti-diabetic agent from Kalopanax pictus.

To search for the anti-diabetic principle from the stem bark of Kalopanax pictus, seven kinds of chemical constituents including hedearagenin glycosides and phenolic glycosides were isolated. The anti-diabetic evaluation of these isolates in the streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats exhibited that kalopanaxsaponin A has a potent anti-diabetic activity in contrast to a mild activity of hedearagenin. In addition, significant hypocholesterolemic and hypolipidemic activities of kalopanaxsaponin A and hedearagenin were observed. The structure-activity relationship of kalopanaxsaponin A was also investigated in the present work.