Digitonin

Digitin

White solid

Fixed

234-240 ° C

Soluble in hot water (10 g · l-1 at 80 ° C)

Risk

Template: Infobox chemical / molecular formula search available

Digitonin, also Digitin, is a steroid glycoside from the seeds of foxglove Digitalis purpurea.

Structure and Properties

Digitonin is a glycoside selected from the group of the saponins ( steroid saponins ). The steroid Digitogenin is the aglycone, which is linked with five sugar residues. Like most saponins digitonin is also toxic, it causes the destruction of red blood cells by destroying the cell membrane ( hemolysis).

Use

Digitonin is a mild non-ionic surfactant. It is used in biochemistry for solubilizing membrane proteins and for permeabilization of cell membranes for the precipitation of cholesterol. Cholesterol is not detected by precipitation with digitonin at a dilution of 1:10,000.