Ginsenoside Rh-4, a genuine dammarane glycoside from Korean red ginseng

A genuine glycoside, named ginsenoside Rh-4, was isolated from Korean red ginseng (Panax ginseng C. A. Meyer) through repeated column chromatography, and its chemical structure was established to be 6-O-beta-D-glucopyranosyldammar-20(22), 24-diene-3 beta,6 alpha,12 beta-triol by spectral and chemical methods. The stereochemistry of a double bond at C-20(22) of ginsenoside Rh, was characterized as (E) hom a NOESY experiment in the H-1-NMR of the aglycone. Cytotoxic activities of ginsenoside Rh-4 and its aglycone against cancer cell lines were evaluated by use of the SRB method.