Saponins quillaia

Saponins for beverage use are sourced from quillaia bark (Quillaia saponaria Molina) and the yuccas. Of the latter species, two main varieties are used in the United States for production of the water extract the Mohave yucca (Yucca mohavensis) and the Joshua tree (Yucca brevifolia). At the levels used these additives are colourless and tasteless the dried extract, however, possesses an acrid, astringent taste. Permitted limits are quoted in terms of the dry weight of the extract. In the European Union, subject to Directive 95/2/EC, quillaia is permitted only in non-alcoholic drinks, to a maximum level of 200 mg/1. 

Quillaia bark or soapbark is derived from the tree Quillaja saponaria (Rosaceae) and other Quillaja species found in Chile, Peru, and Bolivia. The bark contains up to 10% saponins, a mixture known as commercial saponin , which is used for its detergent properties. Quillaia s surfactant properties are occasionally exploited in pharmaceutical preparations where it is used in the form of quillaia tincture as an emulsifying agent, particularly for fats, tars, and volatile oils. The bark contains a mixture of saponins which on hydrolysis liberates quillaic acid (Figure 5.62) as the aglycone, together with sugars, uronic acids, and acids from ester functions. 

Chao AC, Nguyen JV, Broughall M, Recchia J, Kensil CR, Daddona PE, Fix JA (1998a) Enhancement of intestinal model compound transport by DS-1, a modified Quillaia saponin. J Pharm Sci 87 1395-1399... 

The saponin structure is either of the steroidal (commonly tetracyclic triterpenoids) or pentacyclic triterpenoid type. Triterpenoid saponins are found, for example in Quillaia bark and in liquorice root. Quillaia B.P. is defined as the dried inner part of the bark of Quillaja saponaria and other species of Quillaja and is used as an emulsifying agent. Liquorice, the root of which also contains tiiterpenoid saponins, has long been used in pharmacy as a flavoring agent, demulcent, and mild expectorant. 

QUILLAIA BARK Quillajae cortex is the bark of Quillaja saponaria, Molina, family Rosaceae, from which the cork is removed. This species is an evergreen tree in Chile (in the valleys of the Cordilleras), Peru and Bolivia. The drug consists of the inner bark which is generally cut before marketing. It has an acrid taste and causes sneezing. The bark contains about 10% of a saponin mixture (Quillaia saponin), which besides its use as an expectorant also has a technical use and as an adjuvant in some vaccines as the saponin potentiates the immunising power of the vaccine. 

Sidhu et al. [50] have studied the effect of saponins from different sources with bile acids. Administration to rats of purified saponins from soapwort (Saponaria officinalis), soybean and quillaia (Quillaia saponaria) mixed with diet significantly reduced the rate of absorption of the bile salts soybean and soapwort saponins did so substantially, but quillaia saponin to a much lower extent. The authors have explained that due to the formation of large mixed micelles by bile acid and saponin molecules in aqueous solutions, bile acids were not available for absorption thus causing a reduction in the plasma cholesterol level. 

Saponins derived from the root of the plant have shown hypocholesterolemic activity in monkeys on a high cholesterol diet (also see quillaia) Male rats fed a complex of alfalfa top saponins (1% of diet for 6 months) showed reduced levels of serum cholesterol and triglycerides, with no evidence of toxicity. Alfalfa top saponins have also shown hypocholesterolemic activity and prevention of atherosclerosis. ... 

Saponins are generally reported to have widely different (both in kind and in intensity) pharmacological and biological activities. Some of the more important activities include hemolytic (strong in vitro, much weaker in vivo)," local irritant, inflammatory (e.g., on intestine), anti-inflammatory antimicrobial, cytotoxic, and antihypercholesterolemic in laboratory animals (also see alfalfd). It was recently shown that an aqueous extract of quillaia possessed marked cytopro-tective against cellular infection by vaccinia virus, HSV-1, varicella zoster, HIV-1 and -2, and reovirus. The demonstrated activity was achieved at 0.1 lg/mL, which was... 

An immunostimulating complex formed from a semipurified quillaia saponin fraction by a protein antigen has proven usefiil as a protective vaccine for equine influenza virus also the subject of HIV research in humans. ... 

The chronic effects in humans due to the ingestion of low levels of saponin (especially in root beer) are not known. However, two studies (one short-term in rats and the other long-term in mice) from one laboratory have indicated quillaia saponins to be nontoxic. ... 

Saponins generally have hemolytic properties in vitro, but when given orally or intravenously, these activities are much weaker. They also have numerous other pharmacological activities (see quillaia). 

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