As part of our search for new antifungal agents from natural resources, 22 C-27 steroidal saponins and 6 steroidal sapogenins isolated from several monocotyledonous plants were tested for their antifungal activity against the opportunistic pathogens Candida albicans, Candida glabrata, Candida krusei, Cryptococcus neoformans, and Aspergillus fumigatus. The results showed that the antifungal acti...

The saikosaponins comprise oleanane- and ursane-type triterpene saponins that are abundantly present in the roots of the genus Bupleurum widely used in Asian traditional medicine. Here we identified a gene, designated CYP716Y1, encoding a cytochrome P450 monooxygenase from Bupleurum falcatum that catalyzes the C-16α hydroxylation of oleanane- and ursane-type triterpenes. Exploiting this hithert...

Glinus lotoides. Linn is an ancient herb of India, generally known as Ciru-Ceruppadai, belonging to the family Molluginaceae. The natural plant resources and nature-derived chemical moieties are gaining the global demand to provide holistic health care to the Mankind. There is an indispensable need to explore the herbal resources to produce newer generation of drugs with great potential and min...

The seed pericarp of Chenopodium quinoa Willd. (quinoa) contains a mixture triterpenoid saponins conferring undesired organoleptic properties. In this study, we evaluated saponin content and their corresponding sapogenins in 114 different accessions. Relative ranged from 0.22 to 15.04 mg/g dry weight among the genotypes studied genotype effect was significant (p < 0.001). About 75% could be ...

Saponins from the seeds of C sinensis var. sinensis (tea seed saponins) have been well investigated. Their sapogenins, theasapogenols A, B, C, D, and E, were isolated and identified by Yosioka et al.i-3) Two major tea seed saponins, theasaponins Ei and E2, have also been recently determined,4) Saponins from the leaves of C sinensis var. sinensis (tea leaf saponins) were first studied by Machida...

Ginseng, a traditional herbal medicine, may interact with several co-administered drugs in clinical settings, and ginsenosides, the major active components of ginseng, may be responsible for these ginseng-drug interactions (GDIs). Results from previous studies on ginsenosides' effects on human drug-metabolizing P450 enzymes are inconsistent and confusing. Herein, we first evaluated the inhibito...