Impact of several variables on the microwave extraction of Chenopodium Quinoa willd saponins

Despite their possible applications in diverse fields, saponins are still considered to be industrial waste. The use of saponins, however, would make seed processing more profitable and reduce the pollution of watercourses. In this work, the microwave extraction method of Chenopodium quinoa Willd saponins was investigated. The effects of variables such as temperature, time of microwave application, solvent composition and solvent/mass seed ratio were investigated. Solvent mixtures (ethanol–water and isopropanol–water) were used for the extraction. The Taguchi design methodology was employed to determine the number of experiments and the optimal conditions for different extractions. The efficiency of each assay was determined and the results agreed with the best conditions provided by the Taguchi experimental design for both solvent mixtures. The isopropanol–water mixture efficiency was 91.8% in one extraction step, and for ethanol–water mixture, it was 57.1%, clearly showing the advantage of the first one.