Saponins from Quillaja saponaria and Quillaja brasiliensis: Particular Chemical Characteristics and Biological Activities

Abstract

Quillaja saponaria Molina represents the main source of saponins for industrial applications. Q. saponaria triterpenoids have been studied for more than four decades and their relevance is due to their biological activities, especially as a vaccine adjuvant and immunostimulant, which have led to important research in the field of vaccine development. These saponins, alone or incorporated into immunostimulating complexes (ISCOMs), are able to modulate immunity by increasing antigen uptake, stimulating cytotoxic T lymphocyte production (Th1) and cytokines (Th2) in response to different antigens. Furthermore, antiviral, antifungal, antibacterial, antiparasitic, and antitumor activities are also reported as important biological properties of Quillaja triterpenoids. Recently, other saponins from Q. brasiliensis (A. St.-Hill. & Tul.) Mart. were successfully tested and showed similar chemical and biological properties to those of Q. saponaria barks. The aim of this manuscript is to summarize the current advances in phytochemical and pharmacological knowledge of saponins from Quillaja plants, including the particular chemical characteristics of these triterpenoids. The potential applications of Quillaja saponins to stimulate further drug discovery research will be provided.

Saponin Facilitates Anti-Robo1 Immunotoxin Cytotoxic Effects on Maxillary Sinus Squamous Cell Carcinoma

“…e PCI technique is thus a means to achieve endosomal release of IT, but the capacity of light penetration into deep tissues is limited [34,35]. e main activities of Quillaja saponins have been widely described including the antibacterial, antiviral, antifungal, antiparasitic, antitumor, hepatoprotective, and immunoadjuvant ones [17], but are too toxic to be useful in humans.…”

“…Among various common commercially available saponins, Quillaja saponaria saponin (Quillaya saponins) used in this study is the extract from the bark of the South American soaptree and is a heterogeneous mixture of molecules varying both in their aglycone and sugar moieties. Quillaya saponins exhibit various biological activities such as hemolytic, anti-inflammatory, immunestimulatory, antiviral, and cytotoxic activities [16,17]. e mechanism of IT internalization by means of saponin has been reported as due to the transposition of the toxin from the endosomes to the cytosol without affecting the plasmamembrane integrity [18][19][20].…”

Plant food anti-nutritional factors and their reduction strategies: an overview

“…Magnoliophyta can be divided into two key classes: Liliopsida and Magnoliopsida, which contain majority of species that produce saponins (Vincken et al 2007). Saponins have a property of being able to interact with the cholesterol group of erythrocyte membranes, which leads to hemolysis (Fleck et al 2019). Previous studies have reported that saponins also showed inhibitory activities of digestive enzymes such as amylase, glucosidase, trypsin, chymotrypsin and lipase, which can cause indigestion-related health disorders (Ali et al 2006;Birari and Bhutani 2007;Ercan and El 2016;Lee et al 2015;Liener 2003).…”

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

“…Unlike QS, QB leaves contain more saponins than bark (0.085 % vs 0.022 % of dry weight) (Magedans et al, 2019). The renewable use of bioactive saponins from QB leaves has gained more importance in recent years (Yendo et al, 2014;Costa et al, 2013Costa et al, , 2014Velazco et al, 2018;Cibulski et al, 2017Cibulski et al, -2018Fleck et al, 2009Fleck et al, , 2019Wallace et al, 2017Wallace et al, , 2019. According to the Brazilian National Center for Flora Conservation (CNCF, 2012), QB is an endangered species due to overgrazing and inadequate management, despite its economic importance.…”