C21 steroidal glycosides from the roots of Cynanchum saccatum

•Eight new C21 steroidal glycosides were isolated from the roots of Cynanchum saccatum.•The structures of those steroids were determined on the basis of analysis of 1D and 2D NMR, as well as HRESIMS.•Some compounds showed weak cytotoxicity against three human cancer cell lines (HepG2, Hela and U251), respectively.

Eight new C21 steroidal glycosides, named cynsaccatols A–H (1–8), along with two known analogs (9–10), were isolated from the roots of Cynanchum saccatum. Their structures were determined on the basis of detailed spectroscopic analysis, as well as HRESIMS. All compounds (1–10) were tested for their cytotoxicity in vitro using three human cancer cell lines (HepG2, Hela and U251), and compounds 1, 4, 5, 9, 10 showed weak inhibitory activities against different cell lines, respectively.

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