Digitonin

 ( Spiro Compounds ) 

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 . As such, it has several potential membrane-related applications in biochemistry, including solubilizing , 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.

• Critical micelle concentration = < 0.5 mM
• Average micellar weight = 70000
• Aggregation number = 60