ANALYTICAL METHOD DEVELOPMENT FOR QUANTIFICATION OF TOTAL SAPONINS

Abstract

Saponins are one of major functional components in many foods and medical products, consisted of aglycone and diversified sugar moieties. However, there is no good method for accurate quantification of saponins. The current official colorimetric assay for total saponins quantification suffered from great interferences produced by common components in food. An analytical method for total saponins quantification was developed, using solid phase extraction followed by acid hydrolysis prior to colorimetric determination, and validated it by examination of sensitivity, accuracy, and precision. Total saponin contents of seven botanical extracts and one commercial wine product were quantified by two methods. Results indicated the interferences removal effects of the novel analytical method. Furthermore, reversed-phase C18 column was successfully applied for characterization of individual saponin and aglycone. In conclusion, the novel analytical method and chromatographic analysis of saponins provide very useful information and are very promising techniques in different research areas.