Abstract:

In this study, the extraction and purification process of tea saponin was optimized, and its potential application in cleansing products was investigated. Tea saponin was extracted from camellia seed cake using ultrasonic-assisted ethanol extraction, followed by purification through membrane separation technology. Single-factor experiments were conducted to determine the effects of tea saponin concentration, membrane pore size, membrane pressure, and cleaning frequency on the yield and purity of tea saponin. Additionally, single-factor experiments explored the influence of tea saponin concentration, pH, water salinity, and water hardness on surface tension properties and foaming characteristics to evaluate the application potential of tea saponin in cleansing products. The actual cleaning efficacy was examined when tea saponin was used alone and in combination with cocamidopropyl betaine and sodium lauryl ether sulfate at varying ratios. The results indicated that, during pilot-scale trials in enterprises, the ultrasonic-assisted ethanol extraction method achieved a tea saponin yield of 22.84% ± 1.76%. Optimal conditions for membrane separation included a tea saponin concentration of 10 g/L, feed pressure of 4 bar, membrane pore size of 8 000 Da, and one cleaning cycle with 80% (V/V) ethanol, achieving purity of 96.31% ± 3.18%. Tea saponin exhibited favorable surfactant properties over a wide range of pH, salinity, and hardness levels, with temperature kept below 40°C. When used alone, tea saponin demonstrated a cleaning efficiency of 59.06% ± 3.15%, which significantly increased to 83.01% ± 4.93% when combined with cocamidopropyl betaine. The best cleaning performance was observed when tea saponin was used in conjunction with both cocamidopropyl betaine and sodium lauryl ether sulfate, reaching a cleaning efficiency of 94.21% ± 6.30%. These findings suggest that tea saponin possesses excellent cleaning efficacy and can be applied either independently or in combination with other surfactants in cleansing products. This study provides a basis for establishing an efficient extraction and purification process for tea saponin and developing cleansing products containing tea saponin.

Key words: 茶皂素, 超声波辅助乙醇提取法, 膜分离纯化, 表面活性, 去污效果