PHYTOCHEMICALS. In ancient times in the area called Ionia, now known as Turkey, inscriptions on the pith of Cyprus papyrus depicted the using of herbal extracts for medicinal purposes. Currently the commercial value of drugs and pharmaceuticals derived from botanical sources is projected at twenty billion dollars a year on a global basis. Thus we can see that the preservation of the wild gene pools of medicinal plants is highly recommended.

Phytochemicals are also referred to as plant constituents and contain active ingredients that can have profound effects on the human body. There is a wide range of different phytochemicals. They include proteins, simple to complex carbohydrates, acids oils, tannins, glycosides (saponin classification) and more. There are thousands of plant chemicals and new ones are still being discovered. At one time phytochemicals were classified only as vitamins; now they have a very diverse and individual focus in research and science.

Currently science has begun to understand certain health benefits for the human body from the phytochemicals called saponins. These health benefits include prevention of cancer, immunologicial support, effective cholesterol reduction, and anti-oxidant properties. There is continuing research to expand the scientific understanding of the health benefits of saponins.

Just as human beings derive health support from saponins, research is showing the positive effects of saponins on plants. Saponins are some of the main elements or "triggers" that support healthy plant life, and help deliver its nutritional needs. Saponins have many gifts to offer the human body in the area of health. They may also provide a link to understanding our interconnectedness with the plant kingdom.

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RESEARCH INFORMATION

DESCRIPTION OF SAPONINS

Saponins are glycoside compounds often referred to as a “natural detergent” because of their foamy texture. Saponins are in a diverse group of glycosides. Saponins are mainly of the triterpenoidal type, being the oleanolic acid and the hedagenin the main constituents. SAPONIN CHEMISTRY: Saponins are glycosidic compounds composed of a steroid (c-27) or triterpenoid (C30) saponin nucleus with one or more carbohydrate branches.

The proposed mechanism of anticarcinogenic properties of saponins include antioxidant effect, direct and select cytotoxicity of cancer cells, immune-modulation, acid and neutral sterol metabolism and regulation of cell proliferation. Among the chemical properties of saponins, their polarity, hydophobicity and nature of the reactive groups seem important determinants of their biological properties.

HEALTH BENEFITS OF SAPONINS
SAPONINS INHIBITS GROWTH OF CANCER CELLS

Recent studies at University of Toronto, Department of Nutritional Science, Toronto, Ontario, Canada have indicated that dietary sources of saponins offer preferential chemo preventive strategy in lowering the risk of human cancers.

One of the most exciting prospects for saponins is how they appear to inhibit or kill cancer cells. They may also be able to do it without killing normal cells in the process that is the mode of present cancer-fighting drugs. Cancer cells have more cholesterol-type compounds in their membranes than normal cells. saponins can bind cholesterol and thus interfere with cell growth and division. While drugs have side effects, many of them serious, saponins are safe.

Dr. A.V. Rao, professor and researcher at the University of Toronto and his colleagues believe the saponins may even help prevent colon cancer. Normally, bile acid pours into the stomach to help absorb fats from foods. Some bacteria in the large intestine turn the bile into a substance that is highly carcinogenic. That is why a high-fat diet increases the risk of colon cancer. Research suggests that when saponins travel through, they stop the toxic material from forming.

SAPONINS AS CHOLESTEROL LOWERING AGENT

Saponins are widely being researched for cholesterol control. The blood cholesterol-lowering properties of dietary saponins are of particular interest in human nutrition. One of the most prominent research programs on this subject was that of Dr. Rene Malinow, Oregon Regional Primate Center that demonstrated unequivocally the cholesterol-lowering properties of saponins. Saponins cause a depletion of body cholesterol by preventing its reabsorption, this increasing its excretion, in much the same way as other cholesterol-lowering drugs, such as cholestyramine. Saponis have been found to be useful in the treatment for hypercholesterolaemia. Saponins bind with cholesterol so it cannot be re-absorbed into the system and is excreted from the body.

SAPONINS AS AN IMMUNE BOOST

Saponins have long been known to have strong biological activity. When studying the effect that saponins have on plants, it has been discovered that saponins are the plants’ active immune system. Research looks very promising that the effect from saponins are indeed being transferred to the human body when ingested

SAPONINS AS A NATURAL ANTIBIOTIC - Saponins function as a ”natural antibiotic” for plants and now scientists are looking at how they can help humans fight fungal infections, combat microbes and viruses, boost the effectiveness of certain vaccines. Their natural tendency to ward off microbes may prove to be especially useful for treating those difficult to control fungal and yeast infections.

SAPONINS BOOST ENERGY. As we eliminate toxic buildup we have move vitality, health that in turns relates to more energy.

Saponins:
Suprising benefits of desert plants

Peter R. Cheeke, Ph.D.
Professor of Comparative Nutrition
OSU/LPI Affiliate Investigator

Saponins are natural detergents found in many plants, especially certain desert plants. Saponins are also present in small amounts in some foods, such as soybeans and peas. The two major commercial sources of saponins are Yucca schidigera, which grows in the arid Mexican desert country of Baja California, and Quillaja saponaria (soapbark tree), found in arid areas of Chile. Saponins have detergent or surfactant properties because they contain both water-soluble and fat-soluble components. They consist of a fat-soluble nucleus, having either a steroid or triterpenoid structure, with one or more side chains of water-soluble carbohydrates (sugars). Yucca saponins have a steroid nucleus (steroidal saponins), while the quillaja saponins have a triterpenoid nucleus. As a consequence of their surface-active properties, saponins are excellent foaming agents, forming very stable foams. Yucca and quillaja extracts are used in beverages, such as root beer and slurpies, to provide the foamy "head." Because of their surfactant properties, they are used industrially in mining and ore separation, in preparation of emulsions for photographic films, and extensively in cosmetics, such as lipstick and shampoo. Quillaja bark has been used as a shampoo in Chile for hundreds of years, and Native Americans used yucca to make soap. The antifungal and antibacterial properties of saponins are important in cosmetic applications, in addition to their emollient effects.

Mature desert Yucca and quillaja saponins have both current and potential applications in animal and human nutrition. Yucca extracts are extensively used for ammonia and odor control in pig and poultry-raising facilities and in dog and cat foods. Yucca saponins, and perhaps other components of yucca as well, have ammonia-binding activity. When added to the diet, yucca saponins pass through the digestive tract unabsorbed and are excreted in the feces. In the excreta, the yucca components bind to ammonia and certain other odiferous compounds and prevent them from being released into the air. In recent studies in England, feeding of yucca extract to dogs and cats was shown to reduce fecal odor and reduce emission of volatile compounds contributing to fecal odor. Many pet foods and "kitty litter" products now contain yucca extract to reduce these noxious odors.

New applications for saponins in animal husbandry are being explored, especially the effect of saponins on protozoal diseases. Saponins form strong insoluble complexes with cholesterol. This has many important implications, including cholesterol-lowering activity in humans, discussed later in this article. Many protozoa enter the body via the digestive tract or cause their pathological effects in the gut. Saponins react with cholesterol in the protozoal cell membrane, causing the cell to rupture and lyse. Giardiasis (beaver fever), for example, is a disease with symptoms of severe diarrhea associated with the protozoan Giardia lamblia, often found in untreated drinking water, that can infect the small intestine. Research currently in progress at Agriculture Canada in Lethbridge, Alberta, has shown yucca extract to be very effective in killing Giardia trophozoites, which are the infective stages released in the gut when the oocytes, or eggs, sporulate, although no studies with humans have yet been done. Other important protozoal diseases of livestock, including coccidiosis and equine protozoal myoencephalitis, may be amenable to treatment with saponins. Ruminant animals (cattle, sheep and other cud-chewing animals with a complex stomach) have a large population of rumen protozoa. The rumen protozoa reduce the efficiency of fermentation in the rumen, and increases in animal performance often occur when the protozoa are removed (a process called defaunation). Yucca saponins are effective in suppressing rumen protozoa, again by reacting with cholesterol in the protozoal cell membrane, causing it to lyse.

The blood cholesterol-lowering properties of dietary saponins are of particular interest in human nutrition. One of the most prominent research programs on this subject was that of Dr. Rene Malinow at the Oregon Regional Primate Center, whose research (published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition in 1997) demonstrated unequivocally the cholesterol-lowering properties of saponins. This desirable effect is achieved by the binding of bile acids and cholesterol by saponins. Bile acids form mixed micelles (molecular aggregates) with cholesterol, facilitating its absorption. Cholesterol is continually secreted into the intestine via the bile, with much of it subsequently reabsorbed. Saponins cause a depletion of body cholesterol by preventing its reabsorption, thus increasing its excretion, in much the same way as other cholesterol-lowering drugs, such as cholestyramine.

Although there are reports of the development of synthetic saponins as drugs for treating high blood cholesterol, yucca and quillaja extracts are natural phytochemicals currently used in foods and beverages and as herbal products. Interestingly, recent research by scientists in Canada and Africa has suggested that the very low serum cholesterol levels of Masai tribes people in East Africa, who consume a diet very high in animal products, cholesterol, and saturated fat, are likely due to the consumption of saponin-rich herbs.

Masai village in East Africa
The binding of bile acids by saponins has other important implications. Bile acids excreted in the bile are called primary bile acids. They are metabolized by bacteria in the colon, producing secondary bile acids. Some of the secondary bile acids are promoters of colon cancer. By binding to primary bile acids, saponins reduce the formation of the secondary bile acids. Research at the University of Toronto has shown that feeding saponins to laboratory animals reduced the number of preneoplastic colon lesions in mice. The Canadian researchers also found that saponins had a dose-dependent inhibitory effect on growth of human carcinoma cells in culture. Major current interest in quillaja saponins concerns their effects on the immune system. Specially purified quillaja saponin fractions designated as Quil A are used as adjuvants for vaccines. (Adjuvants are substances that increase the effectiveness of vaccines.) Quillaja saponins increase the effectiveness of both injected and oral vaccines. In the case of injected vaccines, Quil A is used to prepare immunostimulating complexes (ISCOM). ISCOM's are prepared by attaching a portion of the protein envelope of a virus to Quil A. The association of the viral protein with saponin facilitates its transport across cell membranes. Quillaja saponin-based ISCOM's are presently being evaluated in development of experimental vaccines against HIV, the virus responsible for AIDS. Besides having adjuvant activity, quillaja saponins have a direct stimulatory effect on the immune system. For example, pretreatment of mice with quillaja saponins enhances their resistance to a disease challenge. Saponins enhance the effectiveness of oral vaccines by improving their absorption as a result of increasing gut mucosal permeability, which facilitates absorption of large molecules contained in vaccines.

The desert plants Yucca schidigera and Quillaja saponaria are rich storehouses of phytochemicals with many useful and important functions in human and animal nutrition. In many respects, we have just scratched the surface in our understanding of the many biological effects of steroidal and triterpenoid saponins and their potentials for improving human health.

Reproduced from The Linus Pauling Institute site at http://www.orst.edu/dept/lpi/sp-su98/saponins.html

SAPONIN RESOURCES