Experimental investigation of the effect of a quinoa-derived saponin-based green natural surfactant on enhanced oil recovery

•A novel plant-based natural nonionic surfactant from quinoa is introduced for EOR.•The quinoa performance on wettability, IFT, emulsion and zeta potential was evaluated.•The green surfactant noticeably reduced the contact angle values, and IFT.•Natural surfactant flooding at CMC point resulted in up to 24.1% recovery.