Self-assembly in saponin mixtures: Escin/tea, tea/glycyrrhizic acid, and escin/glycyrrhizic acid mixtures

Saponins are plant based biosurfactants that are obtained from a wide variety of plant species. They are surface active glycosides with a hydrophobic group, which is commonly a triterpenoid or steroidal group, and saccharide hydrophilic units. Their structures are markedly different from conventional synthetic surfactants, and present interesting challenges in understanding their optimal packing in self-assembled structures such as micelles....