• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.28 no.10
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• pp.1022-1030
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• 1995

Saponins are glycosidic compounds present in many plant foods. They are characterized by their ability to lyse cell membranes due to their surface-active properties. Saponins are believed to interact primarily with cholesterol in the cell membrane. In this study, the interaction of soybean(SS) with cell membrane was investigated using erythrocytes as a model. Mechanisms of interaction was also investigated by measuring their binding capacity with different membrane lipid fractions. Throughout the study, gypsophilla saponin(GS) and quillaja saponin(QS) were used to evaluate the membranolytic activity of soybean saponins. All saponins released hemoglobin in a concentration-dependent manner. SS induced 40% hemolysis at the concentration of 400 ppm, however there was no increase in hemoglobin release above 400ppm concentration. 5ppm of GS and 8 ppm of QS hemolyzed 100% of erythrocytes. Isolation of SS fractions by thin layer chromatography revealed that only one non-polar saponin possesses strong hemolytic activity. When saponins were incubated decreased the release of cholesterol. When the hemolytic activity of saponins was measured in the presence of other major membrane lipid components, sphingomyelin significantly reduced the hemolytic activity of SS, while cholesterol reduced the activity of QS. GS showed high affinity to other component(s) in the incubation media as well as lipids. These results suggest that the membranolytic activity of saponins are related to their specific chemical structure, which determines the interaction behavior between saponins and different membrane components, and thereby influence the biological activity.