Ferns Polypodium vulgare

As expected, lanosterol (70) but not cycloartenol (72) was converted in rats into cholesterol on the other hand both triterpenoids are utilized by Zea mays in the formation of C-24-alkylated sterols. Sterol formation has been demonstrated in the fern Polypodium vulgare, tobacco, and Calendula... 

The steroidal saponin osladin (58) was isolated as a sweet principle from the fern Polypodium vulgare L. (Polypodiaceae) nearly 40 years ago [20,28]. However, the original structure proposed was later revised because the synthetic compound produced was not sweet at all [87]. The correct structure of osladin (58) was characterized by single crystal X-ray... 

Osladin (62) is a steroidal glycoside that is about 500-times sweeter than sucrose. It was isolated by the Czech chemists Jizba and Herout in 1967 [112] from the rhizomes of European fern Polypodium vulgare known for its very sweet taste. Its structure has been recently revised [113] by total synthesis. During the synthesis it was shown that minute changes in the structure result in total loss of the sweet taste. Thus, this is a t5 ical glycoside whose overall structure - including the glycosidic part - is crucial for the respective activity. 

It is not too surprising that many plants produce ecdysteroids to defend themselves against potential insect pests. The so-called phyto-ecdysones have a potent molt-inducing effect, and some of them may be even more potent than p-ecdysone. Gymnosperms and ferns often contain much of phyto-ecdysones. Bracken (Pteridium aquilium) and the rhizomes of the well-known liquorice fern (Polypodium vulgare), for instance, have up to 1% of their dry weight of p-ecdysone, and the rhizomes of liquorice can be used as a commercial source of P-ecdysones. A Siberian medicinal plant (Leuzea carthamoides) was recently studied by Zeleny et al. (1997). The plant has as... 

C45H740,7, Mr 887.07, cryst. (CH3OH), mp. 198 -199 °C. Very sweet (500-fold sweeter than saccharose) tasting "saponin from the fern Polypodium vulgare (Polypodiaceae). The total synthesis has been repotted. Lit. Synlett 1993,54ff. 1995,785 - 793. gen. Adv. Exp. Med. Biol. 1996, 405 Stud. Plant Sci. 6, 360-372 (1999) (review) Tetrahedron Ult. 33,4009 (1992) see also glycytrhizin, slevioside. - [CAS 33650-66-7]... 

Serratene from the rhizomes of European wood fern Polypodium vulgare, (+)-3a-methoxy-13-serraten-2ip-ol from the bark of spmee Picea sitchensis (Pina-... 

Another sweet-tasting saponin, osladin (17), occurs at rather low concentrations (about 0.03%) in the roots of the fern Polypodium vulgare (Hodge and Inglett, 1974). Similar steroidal glycosides have been isolated from the rhizomes of Polypodium glycyrrhiza (Kim et al., 1988 Kim and Kinghom, 1989). The major intensely sweet compound of that plant is polypodoside A, a 26-0-a-L-rhamnopyranosyl-pol-... 

Pollinastanol 4,4-desmethylcycloartanol, a plant constituent related structurally to the sterols and to cycloartenol. Particularly good sources of P. are pollen from members of the Compositae, the fern Polypodium vulgare, and roots of sarsaparilla (Smilax medica). tn these plants, P. is an important intermediate in the biosynthesis of cholesterol. 

Osladin (11-36) is a steroidal saponin occurring in the rhizomes of the common polypody fern (Polypodium vulgare, Polypodi-aceae). Sugar components are a-L-rhamnose and disaccharide a-L-Rhap-(l — 2)-P-d-G1(J) (fl-neohesperidose). Osladin has not find applications due to toxicological reasons. 

Osladin, a sterol bisglycoside, is found in the fern Polypodium vulgare [21]. It has a 2-0-a-L-rhamnopyranosyl-P-D-glucopyranosyl (neohesperidosyl) group at one end and an a-L-rhamnopyranosyl group at the other end (see Fig. 5.6C). It has been reported to be 3,000 times sweeter than sucrose. 

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