Abstract

THERAPEUTIC IMPORTANCE OF PLANT DERIVED SAPONINS: A REVIEW

Singh A.K.*, Mishra H.S., Agarwal Kumar Ajay, Ojha S.K., Gupta A.K., Bedar S.S., Chaudhary S

ABSTRACT

More than three-fourth portion of the Health Services relies upon the indigenous and traditional system of medicine. These practices utilize plants as the source for preparing medicines. The therapeutic utilization of plants solely depends upon the active phytoconstituents present in them. These include alkaloids, flavonoids, saponins etc. Saponins are a group of bioactive compounds distributed throughout the plant kingdom. Specifically, these are naturally occurring glycosides characterized by soap-like foaming in aqueous media hence their name. Saponins have found number of important applications in various industries as foaming agents and stabilizers, Solubilizers, Emulsifiers, Wetting agents, cleansing agents etc. Various studies have demonstrated important biological activities and medicinal properties of saponins. These include Antimicrobial, Antioxidant, Anti-inflammatory, Anti-diabetic, Anticancer and many more. This Article embodies the overview of chemical structure, properties and biological activities demonstrated by saponins obtained from plant origin.

Keywords: Phytoconstituents, saponins, biological activities.