Saponins are a class of amphipathic glycosides prevalent in various plant species. They are very important for human health and may be used in various drug formulations. Saponins play vital roles in inhibition of many singling pathways such as PI3K/AKT pathway, AKT/MAPK pathway, EGFR/PI3K/AKT pathway, PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway, and RNF6/AKT/mTOR pathway. They have been reported to exhibit cytotoxic activities on HepG2, NCI-H460, MCF-7, HT1080, A549, Hela, LN229, H1299, SGC7901, and MDA-MB-231 cancer cell lines. Several types of bioactive saponins such as Dammarane, Cycloartane, Hopane, Lupane, Oleanane, Ursane, Steroids, Spirostanol, and Furastanol have been reported from various plant species. The present review mainly focuses on the sources of medicinal-plant-based saponins with biological activities. This review covers ~101 references from 2015 to 2019.

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基于植物的皂苷的结构多样性，天然来源和药理潜力，特别关注抗癌活性：综述

皂苷是在各种植物物种中普遍的一类两亲性糖苷。它们对人类健康非常重要，可用于各种药物制剂中。皂苷在抑制许多单一途径如PI3K / AKT途径，AKT / MAPK途径，EGFR / PI3K / AKT途径，PI3K / AKT / mTOR途径和RNF6 / AKT / mTOR途径中起着至关重要的作用。据报道，它们对HepG2，NCI-H460，MCF-7，HT1080，A549，Hela，LN229，H1299，SGC7901和MDA-MB-231癌细胞系表现出细胞毒活性。已经从各种植物物种中报道了几种类型的生物活性皂苷，例如丹玛烷，环烷，Hop烷，卢帕烷，齐墩果烷，熊烷，类固醇，螺烷醇和呋喃斯坦醇。本综述主要集中在具有生物活性的药用植物皂苷的来源。