While drugs have side effects, many of them serious, saponins are safe. Dr. A.V. Rao, professor and researcher at the University of Toronto and his colleagues believe the saponins may even help prevent colon cancer. Normally, bile acid pours into the stomach to help absorb fats from foods. Some bacteria in the large intestine turn the bile into a substance that is highly carcinogenic. That is why a high-fat diet increases the risk of colon cancer.
Research suggests that when saponins travel through, they stop the toxic material from forming.
The blood cholesterol-lowering properties of dietary saponins are of particular interest in human nutrition. One of the most prominent research programs on this subject was done by Dr. Rene Malinow, of the Oregon Regional Primate Center, which demonstrated unequivocally the cholesterol-lowering properties of saponins. Saponins cause a depletion of body cholesterol by preventing its reabsorption, thus increasing its excretion, in much the same way as other cholesterol-lowering drugs, such as cholestyramine. Saponins have been found to be useful in the treatment for hypercholesterolaemia. Saponins bind with cholesterol so it cannot be re-absorbed into the system and thus enable it to be excreted from the body.