A novel method for the separation of saponin from soybean meal by colloidal gas aphrons: optimization based on response surface methodology.

Natural surfactants, such as soy saponins, are rich in triterpenoid saponins, which have significant biological activities and are used in different applications, such as cosmetics, food, and pharmaceutical industries. In this research, it was used colloidal gas aphrons (CGAs) as a green and cost-effective method to concentrate soy saponin from soybean meal extract. The production of micro-nano bubbles, in conjunction with the investigation of the effect of different chemical and process variables, significantly impacted the purity and recovery of saponins in this method. The response surface methodology (RSM) was employed to optimize the process. The purity and recovery percentage of saponins were found to be 75.12 and 25.87 in optimal conditions, respectively. Furthermore, when the maximum value for both responses was selected, the purity and recovery reached 57.61% and 71.94%, respectively. Eventually, the results indicate that this method is technically promising, straightforward, and cost-effective in separating saponins for various applications.