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Implication of steroid saponins and sapogenins in the hypocholesterolemic effect of fenugreek

  • Published:
Lipids

Abstract

The transformation of fenugreek subfractions, rich in steroid saponins, was studied upon their passage through the digestive tract to determine the contribution of saponins and/or diosgenin and other steroid sapogenins to the hypocholesterolemic effect of fenugreek seeds. Feces of alloxan diabetic dogs fed fenugreek subfractions were analyzed, and diosgenin, smilagenin and gitogenin were identified and measured using capillary gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. Our results show that saponins are, in part (about 57%), hydrolyzed into sapogenins in the digestive tract. It appears that saponins may be implicated, alone or together with diosgenin, in the observed hypocholesterolemic effect of fenugreek seeds in diabetic dogs.

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Abbreviations

FAE:

feces alcoholic extract

FLE:

feces lipid extract

GC:

gas chromatography

GC/MS:

gas chromatography/mass spectrometry

HPLC:

high-performance liquid chromatography

NMR:

nuclear magnetic resonance

TLC:

thin-layer chromatography

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratoire de Physiologie Vegetale, Universite Montpellier II, 34095, Montpellier, Cedex 5

    Yves Sauvaire & Jean-Claude Baccou

  2. Faculte dé Médecine, Laboratorie de Pharmacologie, URA 599 du CNRS, Institut de Biologie, 34060, Montpellier, France

    Gérard Ribes & Marie-Madeleine Loubatieres-Mariani

Authors
  1. Yves Sauvaire
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  2. Gérard Ribes
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  3. Jean-Claude Baccou
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  4. Marie-Madeleine Loubatieres-Mariani
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Sauvaire, Y., Ribes, G., Baccou, JC. et al. Implication of steroid saponins and sapogenins in the hypocholesterolemic effect of fenugreek. Lipids 26, 191–197 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02543970

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02543970

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