Leveraging transcriptomic profiling of Asteraceae plants for sustainable green saponins oilfield application: A review

Owing to their diverse biochemical properties and substantial eco-friendly benefits, plant-based saponins are promising, green, oilfield-relevant surfactants with notable advantages over synthetic surfactants. Given the growing demand for clean, green, and sustainable oilfield chemicals, this study focuses on Asteraceae, a mega-diverse and phytochemically relevant plant family, as a sustainable source of saponin surfactant. However, the generally low natural yields of plant secondary metabolites and saponin biosynthesis complexity in plants pose significant challenges to their sustainable industrial applications. Also, there are significant research gaps in identifying, characterizing, and developing improved plant-derived saponin production systems for oilfield purposes. In this review, we systematically analyzed the expediency of transcriptomic profiling in Asteraceae, as an important precursor to the bioengineering process for sustainable oilfield-relevant saponin surfactant development. Some reported laboratory efficacy of plant saponins in enhancing oil recovery and oil-spilled surface remediation, as well as their critical industrial deployment constraints, were reviewed. Incorporation of complementary strategies alongside technology readiness assessments for successful industrial translation was also discussed to provide comprehensive evaluations. From genomics to oilfield chemistry, this study presents an innovative means of repurposing plants, particularly the Asteraceae, for sustainable oilfield surfactant engineering, through the emerging omics biotechnology-assisted green chemistry approach. This is also in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and circular economy principles.