Saponin drugs

Most of the saponins of official saponin drugs are triterpene glycosides. Some drugs also or only contain steroid saponins. 

The carbohydrate moiety usually contains one to six monosaccharide units, the most common of these being glucose, galacto.se, rhamnose, arahinose, facose, xylose, glucuronic and galacturonic acid. The horse chestnut saponins are partly esterified with aliphatic acids. 

Most triterpene saponins possess hemolytic activity, which varies from strong to weak, depending on the substitution pattern. 

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The active principles of a group of drugs maybe very similar (e.g. drugs from Soianaceae or saponin drugs), so that differentiation and identification are difficult or impossible on the basis of the active principles alone. In such cases, other classes of compounds have been exploited for the purposes of differentiation. 

With the exception of Avenae sativae herba, Rusci aciileati radix, Sarsaparillae radix (steroid saponins) most saponin drugs contain a complex mixture of monodesmosidic or bidesmosidic triterpene glycosides. 

Since saponins in general are absorbed by the intestines of mammalians to only a small extent, they are normally not very poisonons if taken perorally. Therefore, many crude saponin drugs or corresponding extracts - especially those which contain triterpenoid saponins - are used therapeutically without obvious problems. In... 

Alkaloid- and saponin-containing drugs, as well as bearberry leaves, as a moderately fine powder (particle size ca. 0.5 mm). 

Guarana contains tetra methylxanthine, a compound almost identical to caffeine and other stimulants such as theophylline (which has been isolated and sold as a drug and which can be toxic when consumed in high doses), theobromine, and saponins. Although not well documented, the side effects of guarana are similar to those of other stimulants. 

Saponins are glycosylated secondary metabolites that are widely distributed in the Plant Kingdom.3,4 They are a diverse and chemically complex family of compounds that can be divided into three major groups depending on the structure of the aglycone, which may be a steroid, a steroidal alkaloid, or a triterpenoid. These molecules have been proposed to contribute to plant defense.3 6 Saponins are also exploited as drugs and medicines and for a variety of other purposes.4 Despite the considerable commercial interest in this important group of natural products, little is known about their biosynthesis. This is due in part to the complexity of the molecules, and also to the lack of pathway intermediates for biochemical studies. 

A more detailed understanding of the biochemical pathways and enzymes involved in saponin biosynthesis will facilitate the development of plants with altered saponin content. In some cases, enhanced levels of saponins or the synthesis of novel saponins may be desirable (for example, for drug production 4 or improved disease resistance3,5,6), while for other plants, reduction in the content of undesirable saponins would be beneficial (for example, for legume saponins that are associated with antifeedant properties in animal feed7). This chapter is concerned with recent progress that has been made in the characterization of the enzymes and genes involved in the synthesis of these complex molecules and focuses on triterpenoid saponins. 

Shibata, S., Tanaka, O., Ando, T., Sado, M., Tsushima, S., and Ohsawa, T. (1966). Chemical studies on oriental plant drugs. XIV. Protopanaxadiol, a genuin sapogenin of ginseng saponins. Cheni. Pharm. Bull. 14, 595-600. 

Tohda, C., Matsumoto, N., Zou, K., Meselhy, M. R., and Komatsu, K. (2002). Axonal and dendritic extension by protopanaxadiol-type saponins from ginseng drugs in SK-N-SH cells. Jpn. J. Pharmacol. 90, 254-262. 

Saponin, Inc. Saskatoon, Saskatchewan Saponins, anticancer agents, drugs against cardiovascular disease Prairie carnation... 

Kensil CR. Saponins as vaccine adjuvants. Crit Rev Ther Drug Carrier Syst 1996 13 1-55. 

Y. Nagai, O. Tanaka, and S. Shibata, Chemical studies on the Oriental plant drugs — XXTV Structure of ginsenoside Rgj, a neutral saponin of ginseng root. Tetrahedron 27, 811, 1971. 

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