Comparison of Methods for the Extraction of Saponins from Sechium spp. Genotypes and Their Spectrophotometric Quantification

Saponins are valuable health-promoting metabolites. The genus Sechium spp. is a valuable source of such metabolites. Unfortunately, there is no established method for the extraction of saponins from the fruits of this species. Therefore, this research aimed to compare three gravimetric extraction methods for saponins in two Sechium genotypes. The analysis included FT-MIR and HPTLC fingerprinting, as well as spectrophotometric quantification. Independent of the extraction method, bagasse produced higher extraction yields than juice. Among the gravimetric methods, M3 produced the highest yields, while M1 captured the most remarkable diversity and abundance of saponins. The spectrophotometric quantification corroborated the higher total saponin content in bagasse extracts. This data highlights the use of fruit bagasse as the primary source of saponin extraction in Sechium. In addition, we recommend extracting bagasse through M3 for scalable pre-enrichment, while M1 extraction must be used when preserving chemical diversity is critical.