Abstract:Soya saponins are one of the main classes of bioactive ingredients in plants of Leguminosae, especially soybean, and have been applied in various fields of food, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals. At present, according to the structural type of aglycone, and different functional groups of C-21, C-22 and C-29, soy saponins could be grouped into three categories, namely, type A, type B and type Sg-6. To facilitate the analysis andgeneralization, saponins are further divided into saponins A, B, DDMP, E, H, I, and J subclasses. Due to the wide application of soy saponins, more and more methods become available for separation and detection. Based on the principles for quantitative or qualitative analysis of soybean saponin, the analysis methods can be divided into two kinds: one type is for quantitative analysis based on separation, including TLC (Thin Layer Chromatography), HPLC (High Performance Liquid Chromatography), UHPLC (Ultra High Performance Liquid Chromatography), and GC (Gas Chromatography); The other is for qualitative analysis without separationincluding NMR (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance), HSCC (High-speed Countercurrent Chromatography), MS (Mass Spectrometry), metabolic fingerprint analysis and immunological analysis methods. It is worth noting that mass spectrometry-coupled analyses are important qualitative means and commonly used quantitative techniques. In this review, the recent studies on the chemical structure and analysis methods of soya saponins are reviewed, and their future applications are also explored.
