The interest of the substances from natural origin, potentially antitumor led us to interest in triterpenoid and steroidal saponins of plants from the African biodiversity belonging to the Araliaceae and Dracaenaceae families of plants. Indeed, of the former studies undertaken on some plants of these two families led to obtaining complex and original molecules having excellent cytotoxic, immuno-modulating, anti-inflammatory properties. Within sight of these results we undertook pharmaco-chemical investigations on Cussonia arborea (Araliaceae), Dracaena deisteliana, and Dracaena arborea (Dracaenaceae), medicinal plants usually used in african traditional pharmacopeia to treat various diseases. The work led to the isolation of 31 pure compounds by using the various analytical techniques in particular the various chromatography techniques (CC, MPLC, TLC, flash) on silica gel, normal and reversed phases. The structures were determined by the methods of mass spectrometry (FAB, ESI, IE) and 1D (1H and 13C) and 2D (COSY, TOCSY, NOESY, HMBC and HSQC) NMR spectroscopy. Among the 07 pure compounds obtained of the barks of Cussonia arborea, 5 are new triterpenoid saponins derivatives of ursolic acid, hederagenin and three derived from the acid oleanolic, all disubstituted in position 3 and 28 by oligosaccharidic chains. 13 pure compounds were obtained from leaves of Cussonia arborea, seven of which are new triterpenoid saponins derivatives of oleanolic acid, ursolic acid, hederagenin and 23-hydroxyursolic acid of which four were obtained as mixtures of isomers oleanolic acid/ursolic acid and hederagenin/23-hydroxyursolic acid. From the bark of Dracaena arborea and stem of Dracaena deisteliana, we isolated and characterized ten steroidal saponins including 4 new and sapogenin. The activities of some of these pure products were evaluated on two cancerous lines human colic cells HCT 116 and HT-29.
