Definition and research guide
This page combines a MeSH definition, publication statistics and selected research abstracts. It is a starting point for reading the literature, not a medical textbook or a systematic evidence review.
Content available: 3 complete abstracts (580 words), 6 references. Full article text is not stored or reproduced here; follow the PMID, DOI or PMC links to read the original sources and their access terms.
Definition
A glycoside obtained from Digitalis purpurea; the aglycone is digitogenin which is bound to five sugars. Digitonin solubilizes lipids, especially in membranes and is used as a tool in cellular biochemistry, and reagent for precipitating cholesterol. It has no cardiac effects.
Definition: NLM Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) scope note (Public domain (U.S. National Library of Medicine); attribution requested). View the MeSH record.
Also known as: Digitin.
Where it fits in the MeSH classification
- Broader topics
- Digitalis Glycosides
Research landscape
PubMed indexes 2,088 records tagged with the MeSH heading “Digitonin” (counts retrieved 2026-10-31). 20 of them (1.0%) were published from 2020 onward, and the busiest period so far is through 1999 with 1,665 records.
Reviews account for 17 records (0.8%) and meta-analyses for 0. Randomized controlled trials number 0 (0.0%) as a share of all records on the topic. Randomized trials make up only a small share of this literature, so much of what is known comes from laboratory, observational or descriptive work.
Show the data
| Period | Records |
|---|---|
| through 1999 | 1,665 |
| 2000-2009 | 292 |
| 2010-2019 | 111 |
| 2020 onward | 20 |
Publication-type chart data
| Type | Records | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Reviews | 17 | 0.8% |
| Meta-analyses | 0 | 0.0% |
| Randomized controlled trials | 0 | 0.0% |
Method: PubMed query "Digitonin"[MeSH Terms] with publication-type and date filters, retrieved 2026-10-31.
Reading the evidence in drugs and chemicals
Studies of a chemical or drug can answer very different questions: what it is and how it behaves in cells and animals, how the body handles it, and whether it changes outcomes in people. Laboratory and animal findings often do not carry over to patients, and observational studies of exposures are confounded by who uses a substance and why. Nothing on this page is a recommendation to use, avoid, start or stop any substance or medicine; talk to a qualified clinician or pharmacist about your own situation. Check the dose, the species, the comparison group and whether a patient-relevant outcome was measured.
Evidence from open-access studies
These open-access studies come from PubMed’s best-match results for this heading (papers whose main topic it is), ranked here by citation count, with one recent addition. Each abstract is reproduced in full under its recorded open licence so that you can read the authors’ own words. They illustrate the literature; they are not a systematic summary of it. Citation counts measure attention, not reliability or clinical benefit.
| Study / authors | Year | Source label / design | Europe PMC citations | Licence / source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Membrane Disintegration Caused by the Steroid Saponin Digitonin Is Related to the Presence of Cholesterol | 2015 | Research article Design not recorded in structured metadata | 65 | cc by PMID 26569199 · DOI · PMC6332127 |
| Synergistic and additive effects of epigallocatechin gallate and digitonin on Plasmodium sporozoite survival and motility | 2010 | Research article Design not recorded in structured metadata | 34 | cc by PMID 20072627 · DOI · PMC2800191 |
| Purification of Active Respiratory Supercomplex from Bovine Heart Mitochondria Enables Functional Studies | 2016 | Research article Design not recorded in structured metadata | 32 | cc by PMID 26698328 · DOI · PMC4759192 |
Membrane Disintegration Caused by the Steroid Saponin Digitonin Is Related to the Presence of Cholesterol [1]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- In the present investigation we studied the molecular mechanisms of the monodesmosidic saponin digitonin on natural and artificial membranes.
- Closing excerpt
- When digitonin is combined with other drugs, a synergistic potentiation can be observed because it facilitates their uptake.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (169 words)
In the present investigation we studied the molecular mechanisms of the monodesmosidic saponin digitonin on natural and artificial membranes. We measured the hemolytic activity of digitonin on red blood cells (RBCs). Also different lipid membrane models (large unilamellar vesicles, LUVs, and giant unilamellar vesicles, GUVs) in the presence and absence of cholesterol were employed. The stability and permeability of the different vesicle systems were studied by using calcein release assay, GUVs membrane permeability assay using confocal microscopy (CM) and fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS) and vesicle size measurement by dynamic light scattering (DLS). The results support the essential role of cholesterol in explaining how digitonin can disintegrate biological and artificial membranes. Digitonin induces membrane permeability or causes membrane rupturing only in the presence of cholesterol in an all-or-none mechanism. This effect depends on the concentrations of both digitonin and cholesterol. At low concentrations, digitonin induces membrane permeability while keeping the membrane intact. When digitonin is combined with other drugs, a synergistic potentiation can be observed because it facilitates their uptake.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 26569199 · DOI · PMC6332127
Synergistic and additive effects of epigallocatechin gallate and digitonin on Plasmodium sporozoite survival and motility [2]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- BackgroundMost medicinal plants contain a mixture of bioactive compounds, including chemicals that interact with intracellular targets and others that can act as adjuvants to facilitate absorption of polar agents across cellular membranes.
- Closing excerpt
- Although the effective concentration of both drugs is too high for use in malaria prophylaxis, the demonstration of a synergistic effect between two plant compounds could lead to new avenues in drug discovery.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (217 words)
BackgroundMost medicinal plants contain a mixture of bioactive compounds, including chemicals that interact with intracellular targets and others that can act as adjuvants to facilitate absorption of polar agents across cellular membranes. However, little is known about synergistic effects between such potential drug candidates and adjuvants. To probe for such effects, we tested the green tea compound epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) and the membrane permeabilising digitonin on Plasmodium sporozoite motility and viability.Methodology/principal findingsGreen fluorescent P. berghei sporozoites were imaged using a recently developed visual screening methodology. Motility and viability parameters were automatically analyzed and IC50 values were calculated, and the synergism of drug and adjuvant was assessed by the fractional inhibitory concentration index. Validating our visual screening procedure, we showed that sporozoite motility and liver cell infection is inhibited by EGCG at nontoxic concentrations. Digitonin synergistically increases the cytotoxicity of EGCG on sporozoite survival, but shows an additive effect on sporozoite motility.Conclusions/significanceWe proved the feasibility of performing highly reliable visual screens for compounds against Plasmodium sporozoites. We thereby could show an advantage of administering mixtures of plant metabolites on inhibition of cell motility and survival. Although the effective concentration of both drugs is too high for use in malaria prophylaxis, the demonstration of a synergistic effect between two plant compounds could lead to new avenues in drug discovery.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 20072627 · DOI · PMC2800191
Purification of Active Respiratory Supercomplex from Bovine Heart Mitochondria Enables Functional Studies [3]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- To understand the roles of mitochondrial respiratory chain supercomplexes, methods for consistently separating and preparing supercomplexes must be established.
- Closing excerpt
- Use of the purified active sample provides insights into the effects of supercomplex formation.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (194 words)
To understand the roles of mitochondrial respiratory chain supercomplexes, methods for consistently separating and preparing supercomplexes must be established. To this end, we solubilized supercomplexes from bovine heart mitochondria with digitonin and then replaced digitonin with amphipol (A8-35), an amphiphilic polymer. Afterward, supercomplexes were separated from other complexes by sucrose density gradient centrifugation. Twenty-six grams of bovine myocardium yielded 3.2 mg of amphipol-stabilized supercomplex. The purified supercomplexes were analyzed based on their absorption spectra as well as Q10 (ubiquinone with ten isoprene units) and lipid assays. The supercomplex sample did not contain cytochrome c but did contain complexes I, III, and IV at a ratio of 1:2:1, 6 molecules of Q10, and 623 atoms of phosphorus. When cytochrome c was added, the supercomplex exhibited KCN-sensitive NADH oxidation; thus, the purified supercomplex was active. Reduced complex IV absorbs at 444 nm, so we measured the resonance Raman spectrum of the reduced amphipol-solubilized supercomplex and the mixture of amphipol-solubilized complexes I1, III2, and IV1 using an excitation wavelength of 441.6 nm, allowing measurement precision comparable with that obtained for complex IV alone. Use of the purified active sample provides insights into the effects of supercomplex formation.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 26698328 · DOI · PMC4759192
Key reviews and meta-analyses
The most cited review-type papers among PubMed’s best-match results for this heading, listed with bibliographic details only. Follow the links for the full text and access terms.
- Research article The use of digitonin-permeabilized mammalian cells for measuring enzyme activities in the course of studies on lipid metabolism [4]
- Research article Use of digitonin-permeabilized cells in studies of steroid receptor subnuclear trafficking [5]
- Research article Latency of peroxisomal palmitoyl-CoA beta-oxidation in digitonin permeabilized fibroblasts: the effect of ATP on peroxisomal permeability [6]
References
- Sudji IR, Subburaj Y, Frenkel N, García-Sáez AJ, Wink M. Membrane Disintegration Caused by the Steroid Saponin Digitonin Is Related to the Presence of Cholesterol. . 2015. PMID 26569199 · DOI · PMC6332127
- Hellmann JK, Münter S, Wink M, Frischknecht F. Synergistic and additive effects of epigallocatechin gallate and digitonin on Plasmodium sporozoite survival and motility. . 2010. PMID 20072627 · DOI · PMC2800191
- Shinzawa-Itoh K, Shimomura H, Yanagisawa S, Shimada S, Takahashi R, Oosaki M, et al.. Purification of Active Respiratory Supercomplex from Bovine Heart Mitochondria Enables Functional Studies. . 2016. PMID 26698328 · DOI · PMC4759192
- Geelen MJ. The use of digitonin-permeabilized mammalian cells for measuring enzyme activities in the course of studies on lipid metabolism. Anal Biochem. 2005. PMID 16291302 · DOI
- Liu J, Xiao N, DeFranco DB. Use of digitonin-permeabilized cells in studies of steroid receptor subnuclear trafficking. Methods. 1999. PMID 10579935 · DOI
- Wolvetang EJ, Tager JM, Wanders RJ. Latency of peroxisomal palmitoyl-CoA beta-oxidation in digitonin permeabilized fibroblasts: the effect of ATP on peroxisomal permeability. Prog Clin Biol Res. 1992. PMID 1438367
About this article
- Sources
- NLM Medical Subject Headings (definition, synonyms); NCBI PubMed (counts, identifiers); Europe PMC (open-access abstracts and citation counts).
- Verification
- Every reference was resolved against PubMed on 2026-10-31; title, year and DOI matched.
- Review state
- automated source verified; no human expert review has been recorded yet.
- Version
- 1, last updated 2026-10-31.
See how EvidenceLib is built. Spotted an error? Email support@evidencehelix.com.
Evidence strength
EvidenceHelix's computed view of the study designs behind this topic: how common meta-analyses, randomized trials and reviews are, how recent the literature is, and a plain-language reading. It describes the design mix of the literature. It is not a quality appraisal of any study, and it is not medical advice.