Planta Med 2008; 74 - PK9
DOI: 10.1055/s-0028-1084978

Production of polyclonal antibodies against dioscin

W Phrompittayarat 1, K Ingkaninan 2, W Putalun 3
  • 1Regional of Medical Sciences Center, Department of Medical Sciences Center, Ministry of Public Health, Phitsanulok 65000, Thailand
  • 2Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Naresuan University, Phitsanulok 65000, Thailand
  • 3Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen 40002, Thailand

Dioscorea spp. (wild yam) is an important crop for sustainable food production in tropical and subtropical regions. Rhizome of wild yam has high content of saponins which can be used as a starting material for synthesis of steroid hormones [1]. A steroid saponin, dioscin is a major saponin found in this plant. In this study, we aim at developing an enzyme-linked immunosorbant assay (ELISA) for determination of dioscin in plant extract. Dioscin was conjugated with a bovine albumin serum (BSA) to prepare an immunogen [2,3]. The dioscin-BSA conjugate was immunized to a rabbit for producing polyclonal antibodies (PAbs). The results showed that the antibodies were raised specifically against dioscin.

Acknowledgement: Medicinal Plant Research Institute, Ministry of Public Health, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Hiroyuki Tanaka

References: 1. Samuelsson, G. (1992) Drug of Natural origin. Swedish Pharmaceutical Press. 2. Phrompittayarat, W. et al. (2007) Anal Chim Acta 584:1–6. 3. Weiler, E., Zenk, MH. (1976) Phytochemistry 15:1537–1545.