Quillaia

Two small bottles of quillaja extract.jpg

Quillaia is the milled inner bark or small stems and branches of the soapbark (Quillaja saponaria). Other names include Murillo bark extract, Panama bark extract, Quillaia extract, Quillay bark extract, Soapbark extract, and Template:Lang. Quillaia contains high concentrations of saponins that can be increased further by processing. Highly purified saponins from quillaia bark are used as adjuvants to enhance the effectiveness of vaccines. Other compounds in the crude extract include tannins and other polyphenols, and calcium oxalate.<ref name=efsaj>EFSA Panel on Food Additives and Flavourings (FAF) et al. Re-evaluation of Quillaia extract (E 999) as a food additive and safety of the proposed extension of use. Template:Webarchive EFSA Journal. 6 March 2019.</ref>

Quillaia is used in the manufacture of food additives.<ref name=efsaj/> The extract also is used as a humectant in baked goods, frozen dairy products, and puddings and as a foaming agent in soft drinks.<ref name=efsaj/> It is used in agriculture for some "natural" spray adjuvant formulations.<ref>Biopesticides Registration Action Document. Saponins of Quillaja Saponaria Template:Webarchive. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 11 September 2009.</ref>

Use in medicine

The saponins from Quillaja saponaria are used in several approved veterinary vaccines (e.g., foot-and-mouth disease vaccines). Initially a crude preparation was used, but more recently purified products have been developed. Two of these (Quil A and Matrix-M) have been shown to be more effective and cause less local irritation.<ref name=Sun2009>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name=KHN>Sarah Jane Tribble and Rachana Pradhan. Novavax’s Effort to Vaccinate the World, From Zero to Not Quite Warp Speed Template:Webarchive Kaiser Health News, Kaiser Family Foundation, 19 July 2021.</ref>

Quil A is still a mixture of more than 25 different saponin molecules. One of them, the saponin QS21, has been investigated for as an adjuvant for human vaccines.<ref name=Sun2009/>

Novavax uses a highly purified quillaja extract as an adjuvant in its veterinary and human vaccines. The adjuvant, Matrix-M, is made at facilities in Sweden and Denmark.<ref name=KHN/>

External links

• Template:Cite web WHO report