Saponins and triterpenic acids have been shown to be able to interact with lipid membranes and domains enriched with cholesterol (rafts). How saponins are able to modulate lipid phase separation in membranes and the role of the sugar chains for this activity is unknown. We demonstrate in a binary membrane model composed of DMPC/Chol (3:1 mol/mol) that the saponin α-hederin and its aglycone pres...

Thirteen novel triterpenoid saponins, designed as amide derivatives of the natural cytotoxic saponin β-hederin, were synthesized by a stepwise glycosylation strategy. The in vitro cytotoxic activity of these compounds was evaluated against five different tumor cell lines. Most of the evaluated compounds showed effective inhibitory activity against at least one tumor cell line at micromolar conc...

Introduction: Hedera helix is a species of the Araliaceae family, which contains flavonoids, coumarins, phenolic acids, sterols, alkaloids, anthocyanins, and triterpene saponins. α-Hederin saponin compound H. that possesses many potential biological activities. In previous studies, several methods were used to isolate purify α-hederin from ivy leaves. However, loss obtained during solid chromat...

Herbal medicines are a great deal of attention to investigate emphasizing on health benefits. Alpha-hederin (α-HN) is a plant-derived saponin having a number of important biological activities. However, the studies on this component are not enough. This revision aims at summarizing the biological roles of α-HN including possible mechanism of actions. This study is made on the basis of evidence ...

Background: The peracetylation is a simple chemical modification that can be used to enhance the bioavailability of hydrophilic products and to obtain safe and stable pro-drugs. Results: A totally green, solvent-free and catalyst-free microwave (MW)-assisted method for peracetylation of natural products such as oleuropein, alpha-hederin, quercetin and rutin is presented. By simply tuning the MW...

Saponins are a class of naturally occurring bioactive and biocompatible amphiphilic glycosides produced by plants. Some saponins, such as α-hederin, exhibit unique cell membrane interactions. At concentrations above their critical micelle concentration, they will interact and aggregate with membrane cholesterol to form transient pores in the cell membrane. In this project, we utilized the uniqu...

Black cumin (Nigella sativa) is a spice having medicinal properties with pungent and bitter odour. It is used since thousands of years to treat various ailments, including cancer mainly in South Asia and Middle Eastern regions. Substantial evidence in multiple research studies emphasizes about the therapeutic importance of bioactive principles of N. sativa in cancer bioassays; however, the exac...