Question

Chikusetsu saponin is present in:

• A. Senega
• B. Quillia
• C. Ginseng
• D. Liquorice

Answer 1

The Correct Option is C

The correct option is (C): Ginseng.

Answer 2

The question asks which crude drug source yields chikusetsu saponins. Let's check each option against what plant family and saponin class it is actually known for.

1. Senega: Senega root, from Polygala senega, contains its own distinct group of triterpenoid saponins called senegins. These belong to a different saponin class altogether, so senega is not the source of chikusetsu saponins.
2. Quillia: Quillaja saponaria bark yields quillaic acid based saponins, commonly called quillaja saponins, which are used mainly as foaming and vaccine adjuvant agents. This is again a chemically separate group from chikusetsu saponins.
3. Ginseng: Chikusetsu saponins were first isolated from Panax japonicus, also known as chikusetsu ninjin, a species placed in the same Panax genus as true ginseng, Panax ginseng. Since chikusetsu saponins share the dammarane skeleton with the ginsenosides found in ginseng, pharmacognosy classifies them under the ginseng group of drugs.
4. Liquorice: Liquorice root, from Glycyrrhiza glabra, contains glycyrrhizin, an oleanane type saponin with a sweet taste that is structurally unrelated to the dammarane type chikusetsu saponins.

Only the Panax genus, to which ginseng belongs, is linked to the dammarane saponin class that chikusetsu saponins fall under.

The correct answer is Ginseng.