Comparative Studies of Saponin of Several Alfalfa Varieties Using Chemical and Biochemical Assays¹

Abstract

Saponin content of alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) was affected by variety, stage of growth, and percentage of leaves. Leaves were higher in saponin content than stems and immature growth was higher in saponin content than more mature growth. The ‘Du Puits’ variety was higher in saponin content than ‘Lahontan’ and this difference became greater as the growing season progressed. The varietal difference was reflected in the growth rate of chicks fed alfalfa meal differing in saponin content and in the growth rate of Trichoderma viride Pers. ex Fr. growing on water extracts of the varieties. Both qualitative and quantitative differences in alfalfa saponin are suggested by the Trichoderma bioassay. Saponins extracted from the varieties inhibited the germination of lettuce seed to different degrees. This was attributed to qualitative differences in the saponins from the different varieties. Improvement of the feeding value of alfalfa by breeding for low saponin content is an attractive possibility.

Chemical and Biological Activity of Triterpene Saponins from Medicago Species

“…Poultry are more sensitive than other farm animals. A variety of alfalfa with 1.47% of saponins caused an average reduction of 11% in weight gain of chicks compared to a lowsaponin variety containing 0.59% of the active compounds [142,143]. No effects were reported when calves were fed with alfalfa hay containing up to 2.62% saponin [144].…”

The Role of Proanthocyanidins Complex in Structure and Nutrition Interaction in Alfalfa Forage

“…Alfalfa leaves and younger vegetative growth were found to have a higher saponin content compared with stems and more mature growth [ 96 ]. Saponins form a stable froth when shaken in water.…”

“…These findings suggest that saponins might be involved in some cases of frothy bloat, but they are not required for the formation of stable foam in the rumen. Saponin content, ratio between sapogenins and sapogenin structure differ among alfalfa cultivars and might determine the propensity to develop pasture bloat [ 96 , 104 , 105 ]. Little is known about the effect of environment, season, climatic conditions and growth conditions on saponin content, the ratio between individual sapogenins and on sapogenin structure in alfalfa [ 105 ].…”

Control of plant parasitic nematodes with active saponins and biomass from Medicago sativa

“…Detailed studies with alfalfa, have shown that content and compositional profile of saponins is influenced by several factors such as environment, genotype, physiological stage of growth, and plant part (Pedersen et al 1967;Pedersen and Wang 1971;Berrang et al 1974;Quazi 1975;Tava et al 1993Tava et al , 1999Tava and Pecetti 1998;Pecetti et al 2006). Saponins from M. sativa aerial parts (tops) are characterized by high amounts of medicagenic acid glycosides (40-60%), followed by zanhic acid (10-25%), hederagenin (2-8%), bayogenin (3-7%) and soyasapogenol (10-20%) glycosides.…”