Saponin production from Quillaja genus species. An insight into its applications and biology

Abstract

Quillaja genus (Quillajaceae family) is endemic to South America, where is represented by two species, Quillaja saponaria and Quillaja brasiliensis. One outstanding characteristic of these forest tree species is their production of saponins, a family of amphipathic glycosides, involved in the defensive response of plants against biotic and abiotic factors. Saponins are metabolites of economic importance due to their chemical and physical properties. Basic and applied research efforts performed during the last decades, mainly on Q. saponaria, have placed these compounds as an important raw material in industrial areas, such as food and beverage, cosmetics, vaccine production, biopesticides, among others. In this review, we summarize information on saponins from Quillaja species during the last years, analyzing current developments by application areas, as well as their chemical composition and properties. We also describe the general advances in revealing saponin biosynthesis pathways, related genes and Quillaja genomes, as well as the conservation status, domestication processes, and perspectives in the context of implementing genetic improvement programs.

The use of plant extracts to control tilapia reproduction: Current status and future perspectives

“…The soap bark tree belongs to the order Fabales and family Quillajaceae (Guerra & Sepulveda, 2020). This tree is native to China, Peru, and Chile (Angeles Jr., Gallego, Navarro, & Chien, 2017; Francis et al, 2002).…”

Quillaja saponaria and/or Yucca schidigera ameliorate water quality, growth performance, blood health, intestine and gills histomorphology of Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus

“…QS is endemic to the Mediterranean region of Chile, occurring in mixed forests in the so-called sclerophyllous forest (Schlotterbeck et al, 2015). Owing to its abundancy of saponins that are found in the bark, wood and leaves of trees, it is used in the food and cosmetic industries (Hoseinifar et al, 2020), as well as vaccine adjuvants (Guerra & Sepúlveda, 2021). In aquaculture, it was found that QS improves nutrient intake, feed digestibility and utilization (Elkaradawy et al, 2021;Serrano, 2013).…”