What is the benefit of quillaia?
The inner bark is used as medicine. Despite safety concerns, people take quillaia for cough, bronchitis, and other breathing problems. Some people apply quillaia extract directly to the skin to treat skin sores, athlete’s foot, and itchy scalp. Quillaja saponin is a natural aqueous extract obtained from the Chilean soapbark tree Quillaja saponaria, which is approved by the FDA for use as a foaming agent in soft drinks and as emulsifier in other foods.In traditional medicine, quillaja has been used topically to relieve scalp itchiness and dandruff and orally to relieve cough and bronchitis, although ingestion of large amounts of quillaja bark is not considered safe.Quillaja (Quillaia) Refined Saponins Raw Material – 20% extract is the concentrated purified extract of the outer cambium layer of the Quillaja Saponaria Molina tree, commonly identified as quillay bark. It provides foam to products such as carbonated beverages, bar mixes, beer, juices and barley drinks.Quillaja saponaria Mol. Its bark has been largely used for hair and wool washing. Moreover, Mapuche people have used it for toothache relief and to treat inflammation, especially of the respiratory tract [49]. Furthermore, this tree has been used since precolonial times as a detergent.
Where does quillaia come from?
The Chilean soapbark tree, Quillaja saponaria Molina, grows in the central part of Chile. As its name suggests, the tree is a natural source of soap. Indeed, the name Quillaja is derived from the indigenous Chilean word ‘küllay’, which means ‘soap’. Soapbark is not the only plant to produce natural soaps. Quillaja saponaria, the soap bark tree or soapbark, is an evergreen tree in the family Quillajaceae, native to warm temperate central Chile.