Saponins are a diverse group of compounds widely distributed in the plant kingdom, which are characterized by their structure containing a triterpene or steroid aglycone and one or more sugar chains. Consumer demand for natural products coupled with their physicochemical (surfactant) properties and mounting evidence on their biological activity (such as anticancer and anticholesterol activity) has led to the emergence of saponins as commercially significant compounds with expanding applications in food, cosmetics, and pharmaceutical sectors. The realization of their full commercial potential requires development of new processes/processing strategies to address the processing challenges posed by their complex nature. This review provides an update on the sources, properties, and applications of saponins with special focus on their extraction and purification. Also reviewed is the recent literature on the effect of processing on saponin structure/properties and the extraction and purification of sapogenins.

Supercritical CO 2 (SCCO 2 ) processing of fats and oils has been widely investigated because SCCO 2 offers an environmentally friendly alternative for the processing of fats and oils with added advantages such as moderate operating conditions and solvent‐free extracts and residues. From a processing perspective, a unique advantage of SCCO 2 processing lies in its versatility, which results from the ability to modify solvent properties by changing operating conditions (temperature and pressure) or by the addition of cosolvents. A good understanding of the fundamentals of solubility behavior of lipid components in SCCO 2 as affected by operating conditions and solute properties is required to realize its full potential in fats and oils processing. The operational flexibility offered by supercritical fluid technology enables the processor to fine tune solvent properties and to develop novel processes by the integration of unit operations of extraction, fractionation, and reaction to meet the process objectives. Supercritical fluid extraction, fractionation, and reaction protocols have been effectively used for the extraction and refining of oils, concentration of bioactive components from oils or oil byproducts, modification of physical properties of fats and oils, production of oleochemicals, and analytical applications.

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Supercritical CO 2 (SC‐CO 2 ) processing of fats and oils has been widely investigated since SC‐CO 2 offers an environmentally friendly alternative with added advantages such as moderate operating conditions and solvent‐free extracts and residues. From a processing perspective, a unique advantage of SC‐CO 2 processing lies in its versatility, which results from the ability to modify solvent properties by changing operating conditions (temperature and pressure) or by the addition of cosolvents. A good understanding of the fundamentals of solubility behavior of lipid components in SC‐CO 2 as affected by operating conditions and solute properties is required to realize its full potential in fats and oils processing. The operational flexibility offered by supercritical fluid technology enables the processor to fine‐tune solvent properties and to develop novel processes by the integration of unit operations of extraction, fractionation, reaction, and particle formation to meet the process objectives. These unit operations have been effectively utilized for the extraction and refining of oils, concentration of bioactive components from oils or oil by‐products, modification of the physical properties of fats and oils, production of oleochemicals and design of delivery systems for numerous applications.