Saponins alfalfa

Saponins Alfalfa, cockles, English ivy Noncardioactive steroid glycosides that cause gastric upset... 

Cheeke et al , (1977b) evaluated the effects of high and low saponin alfalfa leaf protein concentrates in the diets of rats, rabbits and swine. He concluded that low saponin leaf protein concentrates support a higher growth rate of rats and swine than the high saponin protein concentrates. In the case of rats and rabbits he attributed the lower growth rate to decreased palata-bility of the high saponin concentrates. 

Table 1. SAPONIN CONTENT (DRY BASIS) OF PRODUCTS FROM THE PREPARATION OF FRACTIONATED LPC FROM LOW AND HIGH SAPONIN ALFALFA...

Table 2. DISTRIBUTION OF SAPONIN AND DRY MATTER DURING THE PREPARATION OF FRACTIONATED LPC FROM SAPONIN ALFALFA (DRY BASIS) LOW AND HIGH...

Product Low saponin Dry matter Yield, wt. % alfalfa Saponin % of recov. High saponin alfalfa Dry matter Saponin Yield, wt. % of recov. ... 

Tung t al. (1977) prepared alfalfa whole dried juice from high and low saponin alfalfas for feeding experiments using day-old chicks. Unlike most LPCs which are prepared by coagulating and separating the protein from the juice prior to drying these preparations contained all of the soluble components of the leaves as well as the proteins. 

In this study there was more than a 50% reduction in weight gain of the chicks fed the dried alfalfa juice prepared from the first cutting of high saponin alfalfa and nearly the same reduction in the gain of the chicks using the second cutting study. 

The saponin contents of a number of vegetable food products are presented in table 5. Most of the food products contained levels of saponin similar to that in the white LPC. However, the commercial sample of alfalfa sprouts contained a level of saponin far exceeding any of the food products or any of high saponin alfalfa meal samples analyzed at the laboratory. This apparant high saponin content of the alfalfa sprouts may be due in part to the shortened carbohydrate side chain attached to the medicagenic acid aglycone. The alfalfa sprouts bearing a resemblance to alfalfa roots in this respect. Further studies will be needed to confirm this possibility. 

KLITA P T, MATHISON G w, FENTON T w, HARDIN R T (1996) Effects of alfalfa root saponins on digestive function in sheep. JAnim Sci. 74 1144-56. 

HPLC/PDA/MS has also been used to compare the saponin profiles in multiple cultivars of alfalfa and M. truncatula. Comparative profiles are provided (Fig.3.8). It is interesting that these closely related legumes yielded different saponin profiles. The saponin profile of M. truncatula is more complex than alfalfa and may provide a richer source for mining putative pharmaceuticals. 

Figure 3.8 Comparative saponin profiles for two cultivars of alfalfa and one cultivar of M. truncatula obtained by reverse-phase HPLC/PDA/MS using electrospray ionization and an ion trap mass spectrometer. The profiles illustrate the increased complexity of saponins in M. truncatula and offer a richer source for bio-prospecting of natural products.

Figure 3.11 High resolution (i.e., greater thanl 0,000) MALDI-TOFMS analysis of an alfalfa saponin extract. Accurate mass measurements are obtained by internal calibration and used to rapidly identify multiple saponins.

WALLER, G.R., JURZYSTA, M., THORNE, R.L.Z., Allelopathic activity of root saponins from alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) on weeds and wheat, Bot Bull. Academy. Sin, 1993,34, 1-11. 

OLESZEK, W., Alfalfa saponins structure biological activity and chemotaxonomy. In Saponins Used in Food and Agriculture Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, (G. R. Waller and K. Yamasaki, eds.), Plenum Press, New York. 1996, pp. 155-170... 

Assa, Y., Shany, S., Gestetner, B., Tencer, Y., Birk, Y., and Bondi, A. (1973) Interaction of alfalfa saponins with components of the erythrocyte membrane in hemolysis. Biochim. Biophys. Acta 307, 83-91. 

Meadow voles, M. pennsylvanicus, and sheep eat reed canarygrass according to the alkaloid content of the particular sample (Kendall and Sherwood, 1975 Robinson, 1979). Meadow voles also consume the more alfalfa the less saponins it contains (Kendall and Leath, 1976). Beaver, Castor canadensis, feed on the usually avoided red and Scots pines only in late winter (D. Muller-Schwarze, personal observations). It is assumed that the ratio between carbohydrates and terpenes is optimal at that time. 

A second major mechanism of resistance to tomatine involves enzymatic detoxification by tomatinases. Although saponins are very numerous and widely distributed in the plant kingdom, detailed studies on saponin detoxification by fungi have been restricted to pathogens of a few plant species, principally to oat and the Solanaceous tomato and potato. This is because structures and antifungal properties of oat, tomato and potato saponins are well established, and that saponin profiles of these plants are relatively simple, in contrast to other plants like alfalfa, where over 20 predominant different saponins have been identified. 

Gerendai, D. and Gippert, T. (1994) The effect of saponin content of alfalfa meal on the digestibility of nutrients and on the production traitsofTetra-SLlayers.Procmfr wgs of the 9th European Poultry Conference, Glasgow, UK, 2, pp. 503-504. 

Levy, M., Zehavi, U., Naim, M., Polacheck, I. Isolation, structure determination, synthesis, and anti-fungal activity of a new native alfalfa-root saponin. Carbohydr Res 1989 193 115-123. 

Zimmer, D.E., Pedersen, M.W., McGuire, D.F. Abioassay for alfalfa saponins using the fungus Trichoderma viride Pers. ex Fr. Crop Sci 1967 7 223-224. 

Among their diverse biological activities, saponins possess effective hypocholesterolemic action (Price et al., 1992). Saponin-cholesterol interaction is an important part of the hypocholesterolemic action of alfalfa but interactions of bile acids with other components of alfalfa might be equally important. Alfalfa plant and sprout saponin have been found to be effective in binding significant amounts of cholesterol (Wang and Ng, 1999). 

Price, K.R., Fenwick, G.R., Oleszek, W., Jurzysta, M., Oszyiiski, M., and Colquhoun, I.J. 1992. Zanhic acid tridesmoside and other dominant saponins from alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) aerial parts. J. Agric. Food Chem. 40, 191-196. 

These are constituents that form foams when agitated in water-based solutions. They are thought to have antiinflammatory, hemolytic, and expectorant effects. Saponins are found in extracts of yucca, sarsaparilla, alfalfa, fenugreek, licorice, and ginseng. 

Sen S, Makkar HPS, Becker K (1998) Alfalfa Saponins and Their Implication in Animal Nutrition. J Agric Food Chem 46 131... 

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