€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€ *****CHEMICAL AND PHARMACEUTICAL BULLETIN***** Hahn DR Oinaka T Kasai R Tanaka O Saponins from leaves of Kalopanax pictum var. maximowiczii, a Korean medicinal plant. In: Chem Pharm Bull (Tokyo) (1989 Aug) 37(8):2234-5 ISSN: 0009-2363 From leaves of Kalopanax pictum var. maximowiczii, a Korean medicinal plant, six known saponins of hederagenin were isolated. One of the monodesmosides was identified as sapindoside A, previously isolated from Sapindus spp. Another monodesmoside and four bisdesmosides were proved to be identical with saponins-K3, -K10 and -K12 and Kizuta saponins-K8 and -K11, respectively, all of which have been isolated from Hedera rhombea. It was observed that the water solubilities of these monodesmosides were increased in the presence of the co- occurring bisdesmosides. The relationship between structure and solubilizing effect is reported. €€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€ *****CONTRACEPTION***** Dhar JD Bajpai VK Setty BS Kamboj VP Morphological changes in human spermatozoa as examined under scanning electron microscope after in vitro exposure to saponins isolated from Sapindus mukorossi. In: Contraception (1989 May) 39(5):563-8 ISSN: 0010-7824 Saponins isolated from Sapindus mukorossi have potent spermicidal activity. Morphological changes in human ejaculated spermatozoa after exposure to these saponins were evaluated under Scanning Electron Microscope. The minimum effective concentration (0.05% in spot test) did not affect the surface topography after exposure for 1 minute. However, incubation of spermatozoa for 10 minutes resulted in extensive vesiculation and disruption of plasma membrane in the head region. Higher concentrations (0.1%, 1.25%, 2.5% and 5.0%) caused more or less similar changes which included vesiculation, vacuolation, disruption or erosion of membranes in the head region. These findings suggest that the morphological changes observed are due to alterations in the glycoproteins associated with the lipid bilayer of plasma membrane of spermatozoa. €€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€ Garg S Taluja V Upadhyay SN Talwar GP Studies on the contraceptive efficacy of Praneem polyherbal cream. In: Contraception (1993 Dec) 48(6):591-6 ISSN: 0010-7824 Praneem polyherbal cream, a spermicidal formulation, has been developed at the National Institute of Immunology, which makes use of Praneem, a purified extract from the dried seeds of an ancient Indian plant Azadirachta indica (Neem), extract from the pericarp of fruits of Sapindus species and quinine hydrochloride. These ingredients have a synergistic spermicidal activity and an optimised formula was derived. The components were made into a water-soluble cream base prepared by using pharmaceutically acceptable base and stabilised by addition of IP grade antioxidant and preservatives. The cream is devoid of irritation and sensitization potential, as seen with standard Draize test on normal and abraded skin of rabbits and by 21- day cumulative skin sensitivity in human volunteers. The formulation was found to be safe under subacute toxicity studies in monkeys. The formulation has shown high contraceptive efficacy in rabbits and in monkeys after intravaginal application. The shelf-life of the cream at room temperature is estimated to be 18 months by accelerated stability studies. Registry Numbers: 130-95-0 (Quinine) €€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€ *****JOURNAL OF PHARMACOBIO-DYNAMICS***** Yata N Sugihara N Yamajo R Murakami T Higashi Y Kimata H Nakayama K Kuzuki T Tanaka O Enhanced small intestinal absorption of beta-lactam antibiotics in rats in the presence of monodesmosides isolated from pericarps of Sapindus mukurossi (Enmei-hi). In: J Pharmacobiodyn (1986 Feb) 9(2):211-7 ISSN: 0386-846X Monodesmoside, saponin A, B and C, isolated from pericarps of Sapindus mukurossi (Enmei-hi) have been shown to promote absorption of poorly absorbed beta-lactam antibiotics by the small intestine using an in situ loop method. Monodesmosides were solubilized with ginseng crude saponin extract, a mixture of bisdesmosides, saponin X, Y1 and Y2 which were isolated also from Sapindus mukurossi. These solubilizing agents were demonstrated not to influence the absorption promoting effect of monodesmosides. Among the monodesmosides, saponin B showed the greatest effect. No influence of osmolarity of the administered solution on the absorption promoting action was observed. The promoting functions of the three monodesmosides for the small intestinal absorption of antibiotics were suppressed by Ca2+ ion coexisting in the administered solution. Registry Numbers: 7440-70-2 (Calcium) €€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€ Yata N Sugihara N Yamajo R Murakami T Higashi Y Kimata H Nakayama K Kuzuki T Tanaka O Enhanced rectal absorption of beta-lactam antibiotics in rat by monodesmosides isolated from pericarps of Sapindus mukurossi (Enmei- hi). In: J Pharmacobiodyn (1985 Dec) 8(12):1041-7 ISSN: 0386-846X Monodesmosides, saponin A,B and C, isolated from pericarps of Sapindus mukurossi (Enmei-hi) were shown to promote the rectal absorption of beta-lactam antibiotics in rat, using an in situ loop method and an in vivo method. In the in situ loop method, monodesmosides were solubilized with a mixture of bisdesmosides, mukurozi-saponin X, Y1 and Y2, each of which was isolated from pericarps of Sapindus mukurossi. The promoting functions of the three monodesmosides for the rectal absorption of antibiotics were comparable and also suppressed by Ca2+ ion coexisting in the administered solution. Unlike the case of N-acylcollagenpeptides, which were also previously reported as absorption promoters, no influence of osmolarity of the administered solution on the absorption promoting action was observed. Absorption of beta-lactam antibiotics from suppositories was enhanced with the aid of either of monodesmosides without solubilizing agent. Registry Numbers: 7440-70-2 (Calcium) €€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€ *****LIPIDS***** Sengupta A Basu SP Saha S Triglyceride composition of Sapindus mukorossi seed oil. In: Lipids (1975 Jan) 10(1):33-40 ISSN: 0024-4201 The fatty acid composition of Sapindus mukorossi seed oil was determined by spectrophotometry, urea complexation, and gas liquid chromatography (GLC). The percentages of individual acids were found to be: palmitic, 4.0; stearic, 0.2; arachidic, 4.4; oleic 62.8; linoleic, 4.6; linolenic, 1.6; and eicosenoic, 22.4. Triglyceride composition was calculated from the fatty acid compositions of the native oil and of the monoglycerides produced from it by pancreatic lipase hydrolysis. The oil is composed of 0.1, 2.1, 22.0, and 75.8% trisaturated, monounsaturated disaturatd, diunsaturated monosaturated, and triunsaturated glycerides, respectively. The special characteristic of the Sapindus mukorossi seed oil is its content of 26.3 and 26.7% triolein and eicoseno-di-oleins, respectively. €€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€ *****YAKUGAKU ZASSHI. JOURNAL OF THE PHARMACEUTICAL SOCIETY OF JAPAN***** Miyakoshi M Kasai R Nishioka M Ochiai H Tanaka O [Solubilizing effect and inclusion reaction of cyclic bisdesmosides from tubers of Bolbostemma paniculatum] In: Yakugaku Zasshi (1990 Dec) 110(12):943-9 ISSN: 0031-6903 (Published in Japanese) Tubeimosides I, II and III (cyclic bisdesmosides) have been isolated from Chinese cucurbitaceous crude drug Tu-bei-mu, a tuber of Bolbostemma paniculatum (Maxim.) Franquet. Solubilizing effects of these cyclic bisdesmosides on water insoluble or less-soluble compounds were examined. It was revealed that cyclic bisdesmosides were effective on increasing the solubility of Yellow OB, dl-alpha- tocopherol and saponin A from Sapindus mukurossi. The critical micell concentration (cmc) and association number as well as diameter of micell of tubeimoside I in water were also measured. The interaction of tubeimoside I with 1-anilino-8-naphthalene-sulfonate (ANS) in aqueous solution was investigated photometrically. It was observed that tubeimoside I strongly enhanced the intensity of fluorescence of ANS, suggesting the significant formation of inclusion complex. Registry Numbers: 102040-03-9 (tubeimoside I) €€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€