Improvement of the Solubilization and Extraction of Curcumin in an Edible Ternary Solvent Mixture

Aromas: Lovely to Smell and Nice Solvents for Polyphenols? Curcumin Solubilisation Power of Fragrances and Flavours

Natural aromas like cinnamaldehyde are suitable solvents to extract curcuminoids, the active ingredients found in the rhizomes of Curcuma longa L. In a pursuit to find other nature-based solvents, capable of solving curcumin, forty fragrances and flavours were investigated in terms of their solubilisation power. Aroma compounds were selected according to their molecular structure and functional groups. Their capabilities of solving curcumin were examined by UV-Vis spectroscopy and COSMO-RS calculations. The trends of these calculations were in accordance with the experimental solubilisation trend of the solubility screening and a list with the respective curcumin concentrations is given; σ-profiles and Gibbs free energy were considered to further investigate the solubilisation process of curcumin, which was found to be based on hydrogen bonding. High curcumin solubility was achieved in the presence of solvent (mixtures) with high hydrogen-bond-acceptor and low hydrogen-bond-donor abilities, like γ- and δ-lactones. The special case of DMSO was also examined, as the highest curcumin solubility was observed with it. Possible specific interactions of selected aroma compounds (citral and δ-hexalactone) with curcumin were investigated via 1H NMR and NOESY experiments. The tested flavours and fragrances were evaluated regarding their potential as green alternative solvents.

A switchable temperature-responsive ionic liquid-based surfactant-free microemulsion for extraction and separation of hydrophilic and lipophilic compounds from Camptotheca acuminata and extraction mechanism

In this study, a switchable temperature-responsive ionic liquid-based surfactant-free microemulsion (TRIL-SFME) for extraction and in-situ separation of hydrophilic and lipophilic compounds from Camptotheca acuminata was firstly developed and systematically characterized. This TRIL-SFME was obtained using 1-hexyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate ([HMIM][BF₄]), 1,2-propanediol and H₂O. The prepared TRIL-SFME presented low viscosity and rapid response to temperature. Firstly, the effect of temperatures on TRIL-SFME phase behavior was studied followed by determination of effect of liquid/solid ratio and extraction time on the extraction yields of the targeted compounds. The TRIL-SFME demulsified rapidly by thermal stimulus, resulting in in-situ separation and enrichment of compounds with varying polarity. The results of present study revealed that TRIL-SFME had higher extraction yields (1.50-5.79 folds) compared to traditional solvents and individual components of TRIL-SFME. Besides, in-situ separation and enrichment of hydrophilic compounds (phenolic acids) and lipophilic compounds (alkaloids) was accomplished in short time (within 3 min) by cooling the system to 4 ℃. Furthermore, the mesoscopic behavior between TRIL-SFME and targeted compounds was simulated by dissipative particle dynamics (DPD) to explore the extraction mechanism for the first time. The results illustrated the formation of W/IL structure of TRIL-SFME and clarified solubilization mechanism of TRIL-SFME system for targeted compounds, which is related to its special "water pool" structure. This novel and switchable TRIL-SFME is an environmentally friendly and promising alternative to simultaneously extract, in-situ separate and enrich the natural active compounds with different polarity from plant matrices.

An Innovative, Green Cascade Protocol for Grape Stalk Valorization with Process Intensification Technologies

Valorization of agri-food residues to produce bio-based platform chemicals will enhance the transition to the bio-economy era. To this end, a sustainable process has been developed for the overall valorization of grape stalks (GS) according to a circular approach, starting from the lignin fraction to further deal with the cellulose-rich residue. This non-conventional protocol fully adheres to green chemistry principles, exploiting the so-called enabling technologies—mainly ultrasound and microwaves—for energy-saving innovative processes. Firstly, ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE, 40 kHz, 200 W) demonstrated to be an excellent technique for GS delignification combined with natural deep eutectic solvents (NaDESs). Delignification enables isolation of the pertinent lignin framework and the potential to obtain a polyphenol-rich liquid fraction, focusing on the valorization of GS as source of bioactive compounds (BACs). Among the NaDESs employed, the combination of choline chloride (ChCl) and levulinic acid (LevA) (ChLevA) presented noteworthy results, enabling a delignification higher than 70%. LevA is one of the top-value biobased platform chemicals. In this work, a flash microwave (MW)-assisted process was subsequently applied to the cellulose-rich fraction remained after delignification, yielding 85% LevA. The regeneration of this starting compound to produce ChLevA can lead to a further biomass delignification cycle, thus developing a new cascade protocol for a full valorization of GS.

Deep eutectic solvents: Recent advances in fabrication approaches and pharmaceutical applications

Deep eutectic solvents (DESs) have received increasing attention in the past decade owing to their distinguished properties including biocompatibility, tunability, thermal and chemical stability. Particularly, DESs have joined forces in pharmaceutical industry, not only to efficiently separate actives from natural products, but also to dramatically increase solubility and permeability of drugs, both are critical for the drug absorption and efficacy. As a result, lately DESs have been extensively and practically adopted as versatile drug delivery systems for different routes such as nasal, transdermal and oral administration with enhanced bioavailability. This review summarizes the emerging progress of DESs by introducing applied fabrication approaches with advantages and limitations thereof, and by highlighting the pharmaceutical applications of DESs.