Supramolecular Solvent-Based Extraction of Microgreens: Taguchi Design Coupled-ANN Multi-Objective Optimization

What if the key to unlocking the nutritional treasure of microgreens lies in a green, smart extraction method? This research shows how combining Taguchi design and artificial neural networks can optimize the process to perfection.

Microgreens are tiny nutritional powerhouses, but getting their beneficial compounds out efficiently is a challenge. Enter supramolecular solvents (SUPRAS) — an eco-friendly extraction approach that's both efficient and promising. This study dives into optimizing SUPRAS extraction for sango radish and kale microgreens, using a combination of Taguchi experimental design and artificial neural network (ANN) modeling to fine-tune key parameters like ethanol content, centrifugation speed, and solid-liquid ratio.

The team measured antioxidant activity and the levels of chlorophylls, carotenoids, phenolics, and anthocyanidins to evaluate extraction efficiency. The results showed variability in phytochemical content across samples, but the predictive power of the optimized parameters was impressive. For sango radish, the sweet spot was 35.7% ethanol, a 1:1 SUPRAS-to-sample ratio, 4020 rpm centrifugation, 19.84 minutes, and a solid-liquid ratio of 30.2 mg/mL. Kale required slightly different conditions: 35.64% ethanol, 1:1 ratio, 3927 rpm, 19.83 minutes, and 30.4 mg/mL.

What's truly remarkable is the verification step: when these predicted parameters were tested in the lab, the divergence from expected values was tiny — ranging from -3.09% to 2.36% for sango radish and -2.57% to 3.58% for kale. This level of accuracy underscores the potential of combining SUPRAS with statistical and computational tools to maximize the recovery of valuable bioactive compounds from microgreens, paving the way for greener extraction technologies.

Key Points

• SUPRAS extraction optimized for microgreens
• Taguchi + ANN predicted optimal parameters
• Lab verification showed low divergence (-3.09% to 3.58%)