Pregnane glycosides from Caralluma genus

Pregnane glycosides are a class of naturally occurring substances widely distributed in the plant kingdom and in some marine organisms. They closely resemble cardiac glycosides which are important in medicinal chemistry due to their digitalis-like effects on cardiac muscles. The use of pregnane glycosides in herbal drugs and folk medicines has generated great interest in the chemical characterization of these molecules for their possible therapeutic properties. Herein we report the phytochemical and biological studies carried out on pregnane glycosides from several species of Caralluma (Asclepiadaceae family), a genus of succulent perennial herbs that grow wild in stony habitats of Subtropical and Tropical region of the world. The species investigated until now were C. dalzielii, C. indica, C. lasiantha, C. negevensis, C. penicillata, C. retrospiciens, C. russeliana, C. stalagmifera, C. tuberculata, and C. umbellata with a total of 108 pregnanes, aglycons or glycosides, isolated and characterized from the apolar and polar extracts of the title plants.