Industrial saponins

皂苷是由某些植物产生的皂类物质或表面活性剂。它们具有巨大的潜力，可作为天然的生物基替代品，用于洗涤剂产品中的石化表面活性剂。然而，从植物中提取用于洗涤剂在经济上是不可行的，或者在土地使用的基础上是可持续的。该项目旨在建立一个可持续的，商业上可行的供应链，用于在酵母中生产皂苷。它解决了开发酵母菌株以足够产量生产皂苷以及如何从发酵培养基中回收皂苷的复杂挑战。该项目还将探索皂苷单独以及与传统表面活性剂混合的物理特性，并将确定如何最好地将皂苷配制成商业洗涤剂产品，以实现经济和最终结果。最后，本项目将使用风险评估方法学和体外方法探索皂苷的安全性。

Saponins are soap-like substances or surfactants produced by certain plants. They have huge potential as a natural, biobased alternative to petrochemical surfactants for use in detergent products. However, extraction from plants is not economically feasible for use in detergents or sustainable on the basis of land use. This project sets out to establish a sustainable, commercially viable supply chain for the production of saponins in yeast. It tackles complex challenges of developing a yeast strain to produce the saponin at sufficient yield and how to recover the saponin from the fermentation medium. The project will also explore the physical properties of saponins alone and in mixtures with conventional surfactants, and will establish how best to formulate saponins into commercial detergent products for both economy and end results. Finally, the project will explore the safety of saponins using risk assessment methodology and in vitro methods.