Science for product makers: Know your cannabis beverage ingredients: Quillaja

Due to its superior ability to stabilize oil / water within an emulsion system, quillaja saponin is widely used in the food, beverage and pharmaceutical industries. You can easily find it in carbonated beverages, root beer, slushies, ice cream, whipped cream, salad dressing, sauces, spreads and even in vaccines (source)! Quillaja saponin also has a magical connection to the cannabis industry —  it’s one of  the main emulsifiers used in many cannabis infused beverages and edibles.

Today, we put the spotlight on quillaja saponin by discussing its origins, properties and its magical benefits when combined with cannabinoids.

The origins of quillaja 

Quillaja (Ke-Lai-Ya) is naturally derived from the bark and whole wood of the quillaja saponaria tree, which is native to Chile. The tree is known for its soap-like properties; indigenous peoples used the bark extract as a natural detergent for centuries. 

Quillaja saponaria prefers the Mediterranean climate, usually growing in the foothills of the Andes Mountains in Chile. It is a slow growing tree, which may take 10 — 15 years to mature and produce a viable amount of quillaja. Responsible sourcing and well-planned cultivation are important to preserve the population.

To extract quillaja, the bark and whole wood need to be harvested following strict government regulation. Then, they’re ground or shredded into a powder before mixing with water or other solvents. The mixture is agitated under heat to release the actives, which are then isolated through filtration or centrifugation. The resulting product contains a cocktail of full spectrum compounds. Those compounds have emulsification properties because they contain both hydrophobic parts and hydrophilic parts on the same molecule.

Quillaja’s properties 

Unlike a typical synthetic emulsifier which has clearly separated hydrophobic and hydrophilic regions, quillaja’s chemical structure is quite complex. In the diagram below, the blue part is hydrophobic which would insert into the cannabis oil phase. The red part is hydrophilic, which extends into the water phase. So on the oil / water surface, this molecule twists and accommodates in order to reach the lowest surface energy (aka, the most stable status).

The magic of combining quillaja with cannabinoids in infused products

Quillaja’s main function is to coat the cannabis oil droplets’ shells, making the droplets water compatible. This lowers the oil / water interfacial tension and stabilizes the system. But there are a lot more magical benefits that make quillaja an amazing delivery vehicle for cannabinoids. 

Magical benefit 1: Super high oil load

Designing an emulsion is the process of looking for balance between the ratio of oil and water. This balance mainly depends on how much oil the emulsifier is able to contain. Quillaja has an extraordinary ability to stabilize a very high oil load, meaning it can create a very high potency cannabis emulsion. This allows applications where high milligrams are needed within a small volume — such as mouth sprays, syrups and edibles.

Magical benefit 2: Organic certified

When using the correct extraction method, Quillaja Saponin can be USDA Organic Certified. At Vertosa, we’re proud to help clients achieve Organic Certified status by offering USDA Organic Certified cannabis emulsions.

Magical benefit 3: Compatible with fast-acting edibles

Quillaja-based emulsions normally work well in beverage applications, but my team at Vertosa has discovered a method to utilize this ingredient in edible products, too. Gummies infused by our quillaja emulsion can deliver cannabinoids into the bloodstream in less than 5 mins and T-max can be reached at ~10 mins. This onset speed in a gummy is unheard of (and we’ve even conducted a human PK study to prove it and have been awarded a patent based on this discovery). I will do another post to discuss more on this topic.

Magical benefit 4: Helps deliver vaccines more efficiently

A highly purified component of quillaja (QS-21) has also been proven to be adjuvant to vaccines. Adjuvant agents help our body have a stronger immune response to a vaccine, which makes the vaccine more effective. So far, QS-21 has been commercially applied in cancer, COVID, Shingles, Malaria and RSV vaccines.

Magical benefit 6: Antioxidant properties

Studies have demonstrated that quillaja has antioxidant properties. This is because its chemical structure carries negative charges that attract and neutralize the positively charged metal ions, which are catalysts to oxidation.

A special note about foaming

Quillaja saponin creates lots of foam. It is perfect for products where foam is a feature, such as root beer and whipped cream, but when producing a cannabis beverage — especially at high carbonation levels — the foaming can cause challenges. Rest assured, we have ways to control the foaming effectively to mitigate this risk.

Quillaja: the future of cannabis infused beverage?

Combining quillaja saponin with cannabinoids not only generates palatable, stable and scalable emulsions, but also offers additional therapeutic benefits that may synergistically help deliver cannabinoids into the body and create unique and enjoyable experiences. 

As you can tell, I'm a big fan of quillaja as an emulsifier, especially now that we've discovered a way to use it to create fast-acting edibles. What do you think? Will quillaja play a major role in the cannabis beverage industry of the future? Or do you favor another emulsifier?

Dr. Harold Han — the “Happy Chemist” — combines his storied background in emulsion chemistry and science with curiosity and fascination in the rapidly growing cannabis industry. Developing nano and micro emulsions his entire career, Harold holds a Ph.D in Surface Chemistry from NYU and is the inventor of multiple patents in emulsion chemistry. 

As the Chief Science Officer at Vertosa, Harold spearheads the company’s development of industry-leading and customized active ingredients for infused product makers, offering pre-suspended aqueous solutions to create incredibly homogenous and stable products while maximizing bioavailability, clarity, and taste.

To learn more about the science of cannabis, check out Harold’s Happy Chemist videos.