Sir, The occurrence of a grossly incorrect result for the 'total leucocyte count' was observed in a case of chronic lymphatic leukaemia when this figure was estimated using the Coulter counter model A with the 'saponin' method of lysing the red cells. In this particular case, the total leucocyte count was estimated in two ways: (a) by taking blood samples in duplicate for the Coulter instrument...

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of increasing levels of saponins from Quillaja saponaria on fatty acid (FA) composition and cholesterol content in muscle Longissimus dorsi of lambs. A total of 24 Barbarine lambs were assigned to four dietary treatments: control diet (C) consisting of oat hay ad libitum and 400 g of concentrate (80% barley, 17.5% soybean meal and 2.5% vitam...

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0181784.].

The effect of supplementation of wheat straw (WS) with raw/detoxified mahua cake (MC) on yield and nutritional quality of Pleurotus sajor caju was studied. Raw cake significantly enhanced the yield compared to control and could be tolerated up to a 10% addition. Detoxification further improved the mushroom yield giving a maximum of 1024.7 g kg(-1) from WS supplemented with 20% saponin free deto...

Saponin models of the plasmodial strand of Physarum polycephalum were constructed to study how Ca2+ and ATP regulate the generation of tension. ATP-induced isometric tension in a saponin model increased with an increase in ATP concentration until maximum tension (0.3-1.7 mg) was reached at about 1 mM. The sensitivity of the model to ATP was heightened three to five times in a basic solution con...

A comparative electron microscopic study was made on the effects of saponin on the sinusoids and capillaries of various organs of rabbits and the sinusoids of the bone marrow in cats, dogs, rats and mice. Animals received an intravenous injection of saponin at a dose of 2 mg per kg of body weight and were sacrificed 6 hours after injection. In rabbits, the sinusoidal endothelium of the bone mar...

Prostaglandin endoperoxide H synthases (PGHS)-1 and -2 are integral membrane proteins of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). The luminal versus cytoplasmic orientations of several epitopes of PGHS-1 and PGHS-2 were determined by immunocytofluorescent staining of cells following treatment with membrane-selective permeants. With serum-stimulated, murine NIH/3T3 cells expressing PGHS-2, an anti-peptid...

Four multiparous pregnant Nubian goats at late lactation were subjected to injection of a saponin preparation from Gypsophila roots. Saponin solution was injected into one single gland of each goat after milking 8 times. At day 2 in treatment, milk yield began to be affected, and dropped down dramatically from day 3 till dry off at day 8. The pH value of milk was increased in udder halves treat...

The synthetic anti-Boophilus microplus vaccine SBm7462 derived from the tick intestinal protein, Bm86, induced a protective immune response when emulsified in saponin and used in cattle. Using a mice model, and with the objective of improving the vaccine by continual peptide release, it was encapsulated in PLGA 50:50 microspheres and inoculated in BALB/c mice to assess the immunological respons...

This paper reports the possibility of monitoring the sweetener content in the leaves of Stevia Rebaudiana and root extract of Ginseng using FT-IR, micro-Raman and SERS techniques. Fingerprint analysis is a direct, fast, nondestructive and effective method to discriminate and identify different species. Ginseng root contains ginsengoside saponin about 4% and other active compounds such as D-gluc...