Soapwort, Saponaria

The first soaps were probably the saps of plants such as Chloro-galum pomeridianum, the roots of which can be crushed in water to form a lather. Other plants, such as soapbark (Quillaja saponaria), soapberry (Sapindus mukorossi), and soapwort (Saponaria officinalis) also contain the same main ingredient, a compound called saponin, which forms the foamy lather. 

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. 

The Neutral Sapouins.—Soapwort (Saponaria) and many other plants contain a class of glucoside characterised by the property of yielding soap-like froths in aqueous solution, and capable of acting as emulsifiers and detergents, and hsemolysing blood cells, even in very low concentration. 

Nature utilizes surfactants for a variety of additional roles. A natural surfactant, using a strict definition, is a surfactant taken directly from a natural source (isolated by a separation procedure from either a plant or an animal origin).42 Lecithin, obtained either from soybean or from egg yolk, is probably the best example of a truly natural surfactant. Other natural originated surfactants are the various soap-like surfactants for the removal of fatty/oily substances. These compounds produce a rich lather when dispersed into water and are found in various natural systems (such as chestnuts, in leaves and seeds of Saponaria Officinalis (soapwort), in the bark of the South American soaptree Quillaja saponaria Molina and in the fruits of Acacia Auriculiformis (Figure 7.2) 43,44... 

Saponaria White Soapwort Endangered with increasing Saponins... 

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