Effective extraction of bioactive alkaloids from the roots of Stephania tetrandra by deep eutectic solvents-based ultrasound-assisted extraction

What if food industry waste held the secret to sustainable, eco-friendly extraction of powerful plant compounds? A new study dives into turning vegetable processing by-products into valuable resources.

Processing fruits and vegetables generates massive amounts of by-products packed with valuable treasures like polyphenols and dietary fiber. Reusing these leftovers is a major win for crop eco-sustainability. Researchers set out to test green extraction methods on leftovers from basil, tomato, and red bell pepper production. They ran experiments at both the laboratory scale and using an industrial Timatic® extractor, exploring different temperatures with water and low-concentration ethanol.

Using advanced HPLC-DAD-MS analysis, the team found that dried phenolic extracts ranged from 8.0 to 11.2 milligrams per gram for tomato and red bell pepper, while basil extracts soared up to an impressive 240 milligrams per gram. Meanwhile, they characterized the isolated polysaccharides using 1H-NMR and DLS to map out their chemical makeup and physical dimensions.

Ultimately, these laboratory tests successfully paved the way for efficient industrial scaling. Water-based extraction via the Timatic® extractor proved especially effective for harvesting bioactive phenols, offering fresh data on tomato and red bell pepper polysaccharides for future innovations.

Key Points

• Green extraction of basil, tomato, and bell pepper by-products
• Phenolic content reached 240 mg/g for basil extracts
• Successful scale-up using the Timatic extractor and water