The Effects of Selected Extraction Methods and Natural Deep Eutectic Solvents on the Recovery of Active Principles from Aralia elata var. mandshurica (Rupr. & Maxim.) J. Wen: A Non-Targeted Metabolomics Approach

What if the greenest solvent could outperform traditional ones? A new study on Aralia elata reveals that a natural deep eutectic solvent, combined with a novel extraction method, unlocks a treasure trove of bioactive compounds.

The choice of extraction method and solvent can make or break the quality of plant extracts. For Aralia elata var. mandshurica, a medicinal plant, researchers tested three methods—maceration, ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE), and vibrocavitation-assisted extraction (VAE)—paired with two natural deep eutectic solvents (NADESs): choline chloride/malic acid and sorbitol/malic acid/water. Using non-targeted metabolomics with high-resolution mass spectrometry, they found that the solvent NADES1 (choline chloride/malic acid) was the most efficient across all methods, clearly separating samples in principal component analysis. When comparing methods with NADES1, VAE outperformed maceration and UAE dramatically: 46 metabolites were more abundant than maceration, and 108 more than UAE, while only a handful favored the other methods. This suggests VAE is a superior green extraction technique. Notably, seven of the 27 tentatively identified compounds were discovered in this plant for the first time, hinting at untapped chemical diversity. Further research is needed to see if VAE works as well on other plant materials.

Key Points

• NADES1 (choline chloride/malic acid) showed superior extraction efficiency.
• Vibrocavitation-assisted extraction (VAE) outperformed maceration and UAE.
• Seven metabolites discovered in Aralia elata for the first time.