The leaf aqueous-ethanol extract of Feruia foetida has shown antioxidant and antihemolytic activities.
Because the feeding process of the Plasmodium parasites damages red blood cells, malaria is sometimes called "parasitic hemolysis" in medical literature.
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In vivo hemolysis can be caused by a large number of medical conditions, including many Gram-positive bacteria (e.g., Streptococcus, Enterococcus, and Staphylococcus), some parasites (e.g., Plasmodium), some autoimmune disorders (e.g., drug-induced hemolytic anemia), some genetic disorders (e.g., Sickle-cell disease or G6PD deficiency), or blood with too low a solute concentration (hypotonic to cells).
More modern uses of saponins in biotechnology are as adjuvants in vaccines: Quil A and its derivative QS-21, isolated from the bark of Quillaja saponaria Molina, to stimulate both the Th1 immune response and the production of cytotoxic T-lymphocytes (CTLs) against exogenous antigens make them ideal for use in subunit vaccines and vaccines directed against intracellular pathogens as well as for therapeutic cancer vaccines but with the aforementioned side-effects of hemolysis.
Lactate dehydrogenase is a marker of hemolysis and is elevated (> 600 U/liter).
Hemoglobinuria is another indicator of intravascular hemolysis, but disappears more quickly than hemosiderin, which can remain in the urine for several weeks; therefore, hemosiderinuria is a better marker for intravascular hemolysis.
Berberine, a yellow dye that is known to cause brain damage in infants and severe hemolysis (destruction of red blood cells) in some.