A tree that you’ve probably never heard of before could be the answer to creating a successful coronavirus vaccine. The Quillaja saponaria tree is found in Chile and it contains a compound called QS-21, which could help make the vaccine needed. To get a good grasp of what the tree is, it’s a part of the evergreen family and can grow to about 60 feet tall. The issue is that they have really strict deforestation laws in that area because the tree’s used for so many different things that there aren’t a lot of them left.
Currently, one gram of the QS-21 compound can run you anywhere from $400,000 to $500,000. So the compound’s found in a tree that’s scarce and QS-21 itself is very expensive. Luckily, the solution to both problems is called using scalable tissue culture techniques. With this process, scientists can extract the compound for the vaccine from tiny trees they’ve grown themselves at a much cheaper rate than getting it from mature trees. Not to mention, they can get the QS-21 compound from these new trees in as little as 30 days.
Currently, the vaccine’s still being tested, but it’s FDA approval is pending.
