Abstract
The antimicrobial activity of a spirostanol saponin (DM-1), isolated from the fruit pulp of Dracaena mannii, was investigated against 17 species of fungi and 4 of bacteria. DM-1 showed strong antifungal activity and weak antibacterial activity within the concentration range of 6.25-10, 000 μg/ ml. The structure of DM-1 was characterized as 3β-0-[(α-L-rhamnopyranosyl (1 ← 2), α-L-rhamnopyranosyl (1←3))-β-D-glucopyranosyl]-17 α-hydroxyl-spirost-5-ene from the analysis of the spectra data and chemical reactions.