5/28/2023 0 Comments A Shot in the Bark by C.A. Newsome![]() ![]() ![]() San Martin is working on ways to sustainably grow these Chilean soapbark trees. “I am working as fast as I can to develop this new method from small trees because I would not be happy to be part of this development of industry if suddenly I wipe out all the trees from Chile,” San Martin said. Previously, research involved cutting down approximately 30-year-old trees for their bark. With his team in Chile, San Martin said he recently discovered that the leaves of some 2- to 3-year-old trees, which grow back, have high concentrations of the compounds needed for vaccines. Recently, saponins received Food and Drug Administration approval to be used as adjuvants in vaccines, and they act as “an amplifier of whatever you inject,” San Martin said.Īdjuvants increase the impact of compounds in vaccines on the immune system, which means smaller amounts of a compound can still be effective, he added. San Martin said he is studying saponins found in these trees, which are compounds that act as a natural foaming agent when put in water, for use in a COVID-19 vaccine. ![]() Ricardo San Martin, the Sutardja Center’s Alt: Meat Lab Director and Industry Fellow, is working on cultivating Quillaja saponaria - the Chilean soapbark tree - so it can be used in an upcoming COVID-19 vaccine candidate. ![]()
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