Structure of panaxan B,a hypoglycaemic glycan of Panax ginseng roots

A hypoglycaemic principle, panaxan B, obtained from the roots of Panax ginseng, was shown to be a peptidoglycan with M_r of about 1 800 000. Physico-chemical and chemical studies indicated panaxan B to be mainly composed of α-1 → 6 linked D-glycopyranose residues with branching at the C-3 position, the ratio of terminals, branching positions and intermediate units being about 1:1:1.8.