An overview of cosmeceutically relevant plant extracts and strategies for extraction of plant-based bioactive compounds

Abstract

Recently, there has been an increasing demand for bioactive compounds from plants that can be used in the pharmaceutical and nutraceutical industry. This is due to their presumed roles in preventing diseases such as cancer and their ability enhance human skin to make it look younger. Along with conventional methods such as liquid–liquid extraction, solid-phase extraction, and solid-phase micro-extraction, numerous newer techniques have been developed to enhance the extraction of bioactive compounds from their plant sources in a greater scale. These techniques include ultrasound-assisted extraction, pressurized liquid extraction, subcritical water extraction, supercritical fluid extraction, microwave-assisted extraction, and instant controlled pressure drop extraction. This review describes the types of plants that are widely known for their beneficial effects on human skin and the different extraction techniques—along with their basic mechanisms, advantages, and disadvantages—for extracting bioactive compounds from plants.