Digitonin
Chemical structure of digitonin | |
| Names | |
|---|---|
| Other names
Digitin | |
| Identifiers | |
3D model (JSmol) |
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| ChEBI | |
| ChEMBL | |
| ChemSpider | |
| ECHA InfoCard | 100.031.129 |
| EC Number |
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| KEGG | |
PubChem CID |
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| UNII | |
CompTox Dashboard (EPA) |
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| Properties | |
| C56H92O29 | |
| Molar mass | 1229.323 g·mol−1 |
| Appearance | White to off-white powder |
| Melting point | 244.0–248.5 °C (471.2–479.3 °F; 517.1–521.6 K) |
Chiral rotation ([α]D) |
-40° (589.3 nm; 20 °C) |
| Hazards | |
| Lethal dose or concentration (LD, LC): | |
LD50 (median dose) |
23 mg/kg (rat, intravenous)
4 mg/kg (mouse, intravenous) |
Except where otherwise noted, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C [77 °F], 100 kPa).
Infobox references | |
Digitonin is a steroidal saponin (saraponin) obtained from the foxglove plant Digitalis purpurea. Its aglycone is digitogenin, a spirostan steroid. It has been investigated as a detergent, as it effectively water-solubilizes lipids. As such, it has several potential membrane-related applications in biochemistry, including solubilizing membrane proteins, precipitating cholesterol, and permeabilizing cell membranes.
Digitonin is sometimes confused with the cardiac drugs digoxin and digitoxin; all three can be extracted from the same source.