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Where does the toxicity come from in saponin extract?
- Source :
- Chemosphere. 204:243-250
- Publication Year :
- 2018
- Publisher :
- Elsevier BV, 2018.
-
Abstract
- Saponin-rich plant extracts contain bioactive natural compounds and have many applications, e.g. as biopesticides and biosurfactants. The composition of saponin-rich plant extracts is very diverse, making environmental monitoring difficult. In this study various ecotoxicity data as well as exposure data have been collected to explore which compounds in the plant extract are relevant as plant protection agents and furthermore to clarify which compounds may cause undesired side-effects due to their toxicity. Hence, we quantified the toxicity of different fractions (saponins/non-saponins) in the plant extracts on the aquatic crustacean Daphnia magna and zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryos. In addition, we tested the toxicity changes during saponin degradation as well. The results confirm that saponins are responsible for the majority of toxicity (85.1-93.6%) of Quillaja saponaria extract. We, therefore, suggest saponins to be the main target of saponin-rich plant extracts, for instance in the saponin-based biopesticide regulation. Furthermore, we suggest that an abundant saponin fraction, QS-18 from Q. saponaria, can be a key monitoring target to represent the environmental concentration of the saponins, as it contributes with 26% and 61% of the joint toxicity to D. magna and D. rerio, respectively out of the total saponins. The degradation products of saponins are 3-7 times less toxic than the parent compound; therefore the focus should be mainly on the parent compounds.
- Subjects :
- 0106 biological sciences
Environmental Engineering
Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis
Daphnia magna
Saponin
010501 environmental sciences
complex mixtures
01 natural sciences
Aquatic toxicology
parasitic diseases
Animals
Environmental Chemistry
Zebrafish
0105 earth and related environmental sciences
chemistry.chemical_classification
biology
Traditional medicine
Plant Extracts
Quillaja saponaria
Quillaja
fungi
Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
General Medicine
General Chemistry
Saponins
musculoskeletal system
biology.organism_classification
Pollution
carbohydrates (lipids)
Biopesticide
Daphnia
chemistry
Toxicity
Ecotoxicity
010606 plant biology & botany
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 00456535
- Volume :
- 204
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Chemosphere
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....f5d1510ddab2923d47717117fd915dc7