ENHANCEMENT OF MEMBRANE DAMAGE BY SAPONINS ISOLATED FROM ACACIA-AURICULIFORMIS

Acaciaside A and B, two acylated triterpenoid bisglycosides isolated f rom the funicles of Acacia auriculiformis, are known to have antihelmi ntic activity. Since the saponins contain a conjugated unsaturated sys tem that is highly susceptible to peroxidation, we investigated the in teraction of saponins and membrane using rat liver microsomes as our m odel. Microsomal membranes were incubated with saponins at 30 degrees C for 2 hr. Following incubation, lipid peroxidation was measured in t erms of malondialdehyde and conjugated diene. Our results showed that incubation of microsomal membranes with saponins increased both malond ialdehyde and conjugated diene. The results suggest that in our model, saponins enhance the membrane lipid peroxidation.