"Quillay, a native tree in central Chile, is under growing pressure after moving from a traditional medicinal plant to a strategically important resource in global vaccine production. The main reason quillay is so valuable is a compound known as QS-21, a specific saponin extracted from the tree. QS-21 is widely used as a vaccine adjuvant, also known as a substance that helps strengthen the body's immune response. Rather than fighting the virus directly, it stimulates the immune system, making vaccines more effective, particularly for elderly people or those with weaker immune systems. Footage filmed on Friday shows Rene Carmona, a forestry engineer and researcher at the University of Chile, grinding a quillay extract and mixing it with water to produce foam. Carmona studied the pharmaceutical potential of quillay to understand how to protect the species as climate change and growing demand put it at risk. He pointed to early 20th-century research that helped reveal the therapeutic value of the tree's compounds. "Back in the 1930s it was discovered that the bark of the quillay contained a substance called saponins that had interesting applications due to the surfactant characteristics this substance has, meaning it produces abundant foam in aqueous solutions," he said. Several major vaccines already depend on adjuvants made with quillay-derived saponins, including GSK's shingles shot Shingrix, malaria vaccine Mosquirix and RSV vaccine Arexvy. With malaria vaccine rollouts expanding across Africa, demand for these compounds is only expected to grow. "Obviously, the initial research was carried out in animals, and there is already a vaccine used for foot-and-mouth disease. Later, some tests were conducted in humans to help regulate or stimulate the immune response, and also to preserve the immune system's memory for longer so it can attack, or respond to, these viral invaders more effectively," he added. Gabriel Martin, another university forestry engineer involved in the tree reproduction project, noted that quillay has been highly affected by recent forest fires that battered central Chile. "That not only harms the quillay itself, but also damages an entire ecosystem and a whole trophic chain," he explained and added that the tree can regrow. "If the fire has not reached extreme temperatures, it may be able to sprout again because it has adventitious buds. So, if we are lucky, and the heat has not been too intense, and water becomes available, it could recover. It is a remarkable species because it has a high capacity for CO2 fixation and oxygen release, which makes it essential in the fight against climate change," he concluded. The tree grows slowly and can take up to 25 years to produce bark suitable for saponin extraction, raising concerns that heavy exploitation could threaten the species' long-term sustainability."