Digitonin is a nonionic saponin steroid derived from the plant Digitalis purpurea. It is useful for creating Digitonin-cholesterol complexes which form when Digitonin disrupts the cell membrane and binds with cholesterol in a nearly 1:1 stoichiometric ratio. When precipitated from ethanolic solutions, these complexes form flat lamellar sheets. Digitonin’s cholesterol displacing properties have been used in newer applications to quantify the rate of lysosomal membrane permeabilization (LMP), a new technique developed to bypass traditional cell death pathways. Digitonin permeabilizes plasma membranes but leaves lysosomal membranes intact, allowing for a quantifiable measurement of lysosomal hydrolases and comparison to normal cellular enzyme activity. Digitonin has been shown to induce hemolysis in red blood cells