TRITERPENOID SAPONINS: A REVIEW ON BIOSYNTHESIS, APPLICATIONS AND MECHANISM OF THEIR ACTION

Saponins are the potential bioactive compounds secreted by plants, endophytic fungi and marine organisms. Saponins are the glycosides containing non sugar portion, aglycone (sapogenin) attached to sugar moiety by glycosidic linkage. Depending on the chemical nature of aglycone, saponins are of triterpenoid and steroid saponins. The present review gives an overview of the biosynthesis pathway of triterpenoid saponins and mechanism of the biosynthesis. The review discusses the biomedical and pharmaceutical importance of triterpenoid saponins as they possess different activities including antimicrobial, haemolytic, hypolipidemic, immunomodulating and cytotoxic activities. The review also focuses on the mechanism of their action towards various activities.Â