Therapeutic properties and structural characterization of steroidal saponins: a review

Gabriela Moysés Pereira
OrcID
Maria de Fátima Simão Jucá Cruz
OrcID

    Gabriela Moysés Pereira

    Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Health Sciences Center (CCS), Natural Products Research Institute (IPPN), Av. Carlos Chagas Filho, 373 - Bloco H, Cidade Universitária, Ilha do Governador, CEP 21941-599, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.

    OrcID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0307-1547

    Graduated in industrial chemistry from the Federal Rural University of Rio de Janeiro, she has a master's and doctorate in Chemistry of Natural Products from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro - Natural Products Research Institute, where she worked conducting research in the field of phytochemistry, focusing on Investigation of Active Principles in Medicinal Plants. She has experience in Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR), chromatographic techniques and biological assays in vivo and in vitro.

    Maria de Fátima Simão Jucá Cruz

    Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Health Sciences Center (CCS), Natural Products Research Institute (IPPN), Av. Carlos Chagas Filho, 373 - Bloco H, Cidade Universitária, Ilha do Governador, CEP 21941- 599, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.

    OrcID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6611-3388

    With a bachelor's degree in chemistry and industrial chemistry from the Federal Rural University of Rio de Janeiro, she has a master's and doctorate in Chemistry of Natural Products from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro - Natural Products Research Institute, where she worked developing research in the field of phytochemistry, having focusing on the Investigation of Active Principles in Medicinal Plants. She has experience in Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR), chromatographic techniques and biological assays in vivo and in vitro.

Keywords

Steroidal saponins
Active principles
Structural characterization
Therapeutic properties

Abstract

Medicinal plants are sources of bioactive substances that can act to maintain human health. Among the compounds widely distributed in medicinal plants, there are steroidal saponins, an important class of secondary metabolites that are characterized as the active principle of these natural products. The structure of steroidal saponins is composed of a steroidal aglycone covalently linked to portions of carbohydrates and due to the complexity of its structure, the structural characterization processes are laborious. Steroidal saponins have been investigated over the years, due to their potent therapeutic properties such as antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory and cytotoxic. In this work were summarized the studies found in the scientific literature in the last two decades, about the investigation of the therapeutic properties and structural characterization of the steroidal saponins. Furthermore, recent studies have suggested that some saponins like candidates for the treatment of patients with Coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Studies on steroidal saponins are of great importance, as they can be potent therapeutic agents.

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Author(s)

  • Gabriela Moysés Pereira
    Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Health Sciences Center (CCS), Natural Products Research Institute (IPPN), Av. Carlos Chagas Filho, 373 - Bloco H, Cidade Universitária, Ilha do Governador, CEP 21941-599, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.
    https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0307-1547
  • Maria de Fátima Simão Jucá Cruz
    Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Health Sciences Center (CCS), Natural Products Research Institute (IPPN), Av. Carlos Chagas Filho, 373 - Bloco H, Cidade Universitária, Ilha do Governador, CEP 21941- 599, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.
    https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6611-3388

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Therapeutic properties and structural characterization of steroidal saponins: a review. Rev Fitos [Internet]. 2021 Sep. 30 [cited 2024 Nov. 22];15(3):403-17. Available from: https://revistafitos.far.fiocruz.br/index.php/revista-fitos/article/view/1101
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