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Saponlabs research on saponins in quinoa extract published in the peer-reviewed journal "Steroids"

Continuous Saponlabs research on natural surfactants target many potential sources of surfactants that can be extracted from plants. There exist a variety of plants that contain such substances in various concentrations. One of the well-known candidates are saponins, of which the name is derived from the Latin word ‘sapo’, meaning soap.

In the ancient ages, soapy foams were obtained from saponin-containing plants treated with water. Saponins also exhibit a variety of biological activities and are used for example in production of steroid hormones in the pharmaceutical industry. They are also used in production of anti‐inflammatory, hypocholesterolemic and immune‐stimulating remedies. Saponins are found in as many as 100 families of different plants such as for example ginseng, soybeans, asparagus, fenugreek, yucca or quinoa. A recent Saponlabs scientific paper published in Steroids discusses the effect of a quinoa seed coat extract on a cholesterol-based Langmuir monolayers mimicking the intercellular lipid mixture in the skin's outermost layer. From three quinoa extracts tested for their surface activity, one extracted directly from the seed coat showed significantly higher ability to reduce surface tension (increase surface pressure) than the others. This opens new perspectives for the saponin-rich quinoa seed extract as skin penetration-enhancing active components for cosmetics or pharmaceutical purposes. See more: