Fatty Acid Esters of Sitosterol 3β-Glucoside from Soybeans and Tempe (Fermented Soybeans) as Antiproliferative Substances

Abstract

In the present study we isolated and identified two mixtures of fatty acid esters of β-sitosterol glucoside from soybeans and its fermented product, tempe. The mixtures of glucolipids occurring in soybeans and tempe are unseparable and possess the following structures: sitosterol-3-O-β-D-(6′-O-palmitoyl/-linoleoyl)- and sitosterol-3-O-β-D-(6′-O-palmitoyl/-stearoyl)-glucopyranoside, respectively. Since tempe constituents show antitumor activity, we tested these glucolipids against mouse myeloma cells (tumor cells). The tempe glucolipid mixture showed higher inhibition (95.3%) at the 50μg/ml concentration than the soybean one. The maximum activity of the soybean glucolipid mixture was (96%) at 100μg/ml.