Saponins are a pivotal class of bioactive compounds in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM),widely recognized for their diverse pharmacological activities.However,elucidating the pharmacodynamic material basis underlying their therapeutic efficacy within the complex matrix of TCM remains a significant scientific challenge.Spectrum-effect relationship research has emerged as a powerful strategy to address this challenge.Although a substantial body of research has explored the spectrum-effect relationships of saponins in both single herbs and compound formulas,a systematic review and integration of these findings are still lacking.Accordingly,this study synthesizes key findings from spectrum-effect relationship studies on saponins over the past decade,with a specific focus on these spectrum-effect correlations in single herbs and TCM compound formulas.By combining modern chromatography-mass spectrometry techniques with multivariate statistical analyses,we elucidate these quantitative correlations and thus identify the key saponin constituents responsible for the observed effects,thereby defining their pharmacodynamic material basis.This synthesis not only consolidates our understanding of saponin bioactivity but also provides a critical theoretical framework for future mechanistic investigations and the advancement of evidence-based,saponin-focused quality control protocols in TCM.