Process for recovery and purification of saponins and sapogenins from quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa)
US6355249B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Apr 16, 1999 |
| Grant date | Mar 12, 2002 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Apr 16, 2019 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC C)Chemistry; Metallurgy
- CPC primaryC07H15/256
- WIPO fieldPharmaceuticals
- WIPO sectorChemistry
Abstract
A process for commercial extraction of saponins from quinoa, and optionally for the formation of corresponding sapogenins. The saponin extraction process comprises contacting a saponin-containing part of a quinoa plant with an aqueous alcohol solution containing an alcohol selected from the group consisting of methanol and ethanol to form a saponin-containing solution and an extracted solid residue, removing the alcohol from the saponin-containing solution to leave a saponin-containing aqueous solution, and evaporating water from the saponin-containing aqueous solution to produce a saponin-containing product. The conversion to sapogenins involves obtaining a solution of saponins in an aqueous alcohol, adding a strong acid to the solution to hydrolyze the saponins to form corresponding sapogenins that precipitates out of the solution as a precipitate, recovering the precipitate, and decolorizing the precipitate by forming a slurry of the precipitate with a solution of an aqueous base to form a decolorized sapogenin product.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.