OBJECTIVE In the present study, the antiviral effects of polyphylla saponin I isolated from Parispolyphylla on influenza A virus are investigated both in vitro and in vivo. METHODS Column chromatography and reversed phase liquid chromatography separation technology were used to extract and purify polyphylla saponin I. The purity of polyphylla saponin I was assayed by high performance liquid c...

Dysferlin plays an important role in repairing membrane damage elicited by laser irradiation, and dysferlin deficiency causes muscular dystrophy and associated cardiomyopathy. Proteins such as perforin, complement component C9, and bacteria-derived cytolysins, as well as the natural detergent saponin, can form large pores on the cell membrane via complexation with cholesterol. However, it is no...

The effects of powdered Fagonia cretica plant and its two major triterpenoid saponins (saponin-I and saponin-II) on various blood endocrinological parameters. Prolactin namely, serum prolactin, serum thyrotropin, serum thyroxine and serum cortisol of normal male rabbits were investigated. Two major triterpenoid compounds, saponin-I and saponin-II, were isolated from its ethanolic extract by rep...

Focusing on a functional component of Momordica charantia, saponin, we investigated its effects on serum glucose and neutral fat levels. Saponin was extracted as a butanol-soluble fraction (saponin fraction) from hot blast-dried Momordica charantia powder. The disaccharidase-inhibitory activity and the pancreatic lipase-inhibitory activity of the saponin fraction were measured, and in vivo suga...

Saponins are glycosylated plant secondary metabolites found in many major food crops [Price, K. R., Johnson, I. T. & Fenwick, G. R. (1987) CRC Crit. Rev. Food Sci. Nutr. 26, 27-133]. Because many saponins have potent antifungal properties and are present in healthy plants in high concentrations, these molecules may act as preformed chemical barriers to fungal attack. The isolation of plant muta...

The present study was undertaken to examine the effects of the absorption enhancer saponin on the intrarenal distribution of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) following the kidney surface application of 5-FU in rats. We selected an experimental system utilizing a cylindrical diffusion cell attached to the kidney surface. The intrarenal concentration of 5-FU 120 min after right kidney surface application of...

Nanoparticulate platinum (II) (nano Pt) is a powerful antioxidant that is widely used to scavenge reactive oxygen species (ROS). The antioxidant activity of nano Pt has gained attention as a potentially useful therapeutic for a variety of diseases including cancer and aging. In the present study, we prepared nanoparticulate saponin-Pt (II) (nano saponin-Pt) conjugates using the ethanol reductio...

By imaging the release of a GFP-based viral content marker produced upon virus maturation, we have previously found that HIV-1 fuses with endosomes. In contrast, fusion at the cell surface did not progress beyond a lipid mixing stage (hemifusion). However, recent evidence suggesting that free GFP can be trapped within the mature HIV-1 capsid raises concerns that this content marker may not be r...

The root of Panax ginseng C.A. MEYER has been reported to have an anti-stress action. Therefore, the effects of ginseng components on functions of adrenal medulla, which is one of the most important organs responsive to stress, were investigated in vitro. First, the components of ginseng were mainly divided into two fractions, that is, the saponin-rich and non-saponin fractions. The saponin-ric...

1. The increase of conductivity produced by saponin in formaldehyde-hardened blood is due to an increase in the conductivity of the corpuscles (increased permeability of the corpuscles to ions) and not, mainly at any rate, to the liberation of electrolytes from the corpuscles and a consequent increase in the conductivity of the serum. The increase in the permeability of the corpuscles is probab...