any of numerous substances, occurring in plants, that form stable foams with water, including the constituents of digitalis and squill that affect the heart and another group that does not affect the heart.

Saponins affecting the heart have been used as arrow and spear poisons by African and South American natives. digitalis, from purple foxglove, Digitalis purpurea, was introduced into heart therapy in 1785 by the Scottish physician William Withering. The non-cardiac-active saponins include digitonin, which was recognized in digitalis preparations in 1875; and dioscin, the precursor of diosgenin, which is obtained from a Mexican yam.

A small group of triterpenoid saponins has been isolated from soybeans.