Eleutherosides are a diverse group of chemical compounds that were isolated from roots of the herb Eleutherococcus senticosus

Eleutherococcus senticosus

Eleutherococcus senticosus is a species of small, woody shrub in the family Araliaceae native to Northeastern Asia. It is often colloquially referred to as Siberian Ginseng or eleuthero, and is sometimes shortened to E. senticosus in medical literature. E...

which is commercially offered mostly as extracts. Eleutheroside A is a saponin

Saponin

Saponins are a class of chemical compounds, one of many secondary metabolites found in natural sources, with saponins found in particular abundance in various plant species...

 and sterol

Sterol

Sterols, also known as steroid alcohols, are a subgroup of the steroids and an important class of organic molecules. They occur naturally in plants, animals, and fungi, with the most familiar type of animal sterol being cholesterol...

 glycoside

Glycoside

In chemistry, a glycoside is a molecule in which a sugar is bound to a non-carbohydrate moiety, usually a small organic molecule. Glycosides play numerous important roles in living organisms. Many plants store chemicals in the form of inactive glycosides. These can be activated by enzyme...

 while other eleutherosides, such as eleutheroside B (syringin), are phenyl propanoid glycosides. There are no definite effects associated with these constituents, and they rather serve as marker compounds for the Thin layer chromatography

Thin layer chromatography

Thin layer chromatography is a chromatography technique used to separate mixtures. Thin layer chromatography is performed on a sheet of glass, plastic, or aluminum foil, which is coated with a thin layer of adsorbent material, usually silica gel, aluminium oxide, or cellulose...

 identification of Eleutherococcus senticosus

Eleutherococcus senticosus

Eleutherococcus senticosus is a species of small, woody shrub in the family Araliaceae native to Northeastern Asia. It is often colloquially referred to as Siberian Ginseng or eleuthero, and is sometimes shortened to E. senticosus in medical literature. E...

herbal preparations and dietary supplements.