Saponin

Saponins are phytochemicals, a type of chemical substance that is produced by, and found in, certain types of plants. Saponins are harvested from a variety of plants including soybeans, yucca, peas, quillaja and herbs such as soapberry and soapwort. Used as dietary supplements, they create a soapy form when shaken in a water solution. Saponins can be beneficial to the body.

The benefits of Saponins are

Saponins are found in many plants and in the animal kingdom. Saponins have a soapy character due to their surfactant properties.

• Saponins have hemolytic, expectorative, anti-inflammatory and immune-stimulating activity.
• Beyond that, saponins demonstrate antimicrobial properties particularly against fungi and additionally against bacteria and protozoa.

Food Source of saponins

• saponins are found in most sea cucumbers and starfish.
• Alfalfa herb
• Agave plant
• Bacopa Monierri - Bacoside A, the putative bioactive component of the Indian medicinal plant Bacopa monnieri, was found to be a mixture of saponins with bacoside A3, bacopaside II, jujubogenin isomer of bacopasaponin C and bacopasaponin C as major constituents.
• Diosgenin is a steroidal saponin extracted from the root of Wild Yam ( Dioscorea ).
• Fenugreek herb
• Ginseng - the ginsenoside compositions in Ginseng herbs of different origins are of considerable variability. Total saponin contents varied by 10-fold. Chikusetsu-ninjin derived from Panax japonicus (Japan) was found to have the highest content (192.80 - 296.18 mg/g) and Ginseng from Panax ginseng to be the lowest.
• Onion, red variety -
• Paprika
• Soy bean - soybean contains a wide variety of chemical compounds that have potent bioactivity. Among these compounds are isoflavones and saponins. Recent publications describing anticancer activity of crude and purified soybean saponins have sparked a renewed interest in these compounds.
• Tribulus terrestris extract is usually sold in a saponin concentration of 40 percent.
• Wild asparagus (Asparagus Racemosus) has been used for many years as a botanical medicine in India and Asia. It contains a phytonutrient called saponins.