Saponins
Have anticancer and anticholesterol activity (Güçlü-Üstündağ, 2007).
Although saponins have antibiotic activity and are toxic to fish and insects, they are practically non-toxic to man, remaining within the gastrointestinal tract. Dietary saponins, either isolated or as saponin-containing food plants, lower plasma cholesterol levels in several mammalian species. They are therefore important in human when consumed to reduce the risk of coronary heart diseases (Oakenfull, 1981).