Saponin
n.
A poisonous glucoside found in many plants, as in the root of soapwort ( Saponaria ), in the bark of soap bark ( Quillaia ), etc. It is extracted as a white amorphous powder, which occasions a soapy lather in solution, and produces a local anæsthesia. Formerly called also struthiin , quillaiin , senegin , polygalic acid , etc. By extension, any one of a group of related bodies of which saponin proper is the type.
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