Study of saponin content in aerial parts and roots of three Verbascum L. species

Saponins as secondary metabolites that are found in many plants and some animals are high molecular weight glycosides, consisting of a sugar moiety linked to a triterpens or steroid aglycone. Many saponins have detergency properties and give stable foam in water. Members of the genus Verbascum L. are characterized by yellow flowers and mostly smoke crack and thick leaves. The Verbascum species have active chemicals, which can reduce cyclooxygenase activity. Quantitative and qualitative studies of saponins from the aerial parts and roots of three Verbascum species, namely Verbascum nudicaule, Verbascum sinuatum and Verbascum speciosum were carried out by spectrophotometry and TLC method. In this study, 5 fractions were obtained from each section. Among three species studied, Verbascum speciosum showed high content of saponins in root and also aerial parts. In addition, thin layer chromatography of the extracts of three species on TLC plates represents some saponin spots with different Rf value in the range of 0.13-0.73.