Chapter 7 - Electro-based technologies for the extraction of phenolic compounds

Abstract

During the past decade, technologies based on the application of electric fields emerged in different areas of biotechnology. Processing strategies based on the application of pulsed electric fields (PEF), moderate electric fields (MEF), and high voltage electrical discharges (HVED) in combination with their inherent thermal effects—i.e., Ohmic heating (OH) or pulsed Ohmic heating (POH)—have been used to extract bioactive compounds from underrated agro-food and forestry materials, as well as from biological biomass (such as seaweeds and microalgae, for example). Recently, extraction of phenolic compounds has received increasing attention from the research community. Several classes of phenolic compounds (either simple or complex) can be found in plants, fruits, and vegetable. Polyphenols (PPs) such as curcumin, anthocyanin rich extracts from grapes, and catechin rich extracts from plants present interesting biological and functional properties and are attractive due to their potential health benefits, which can include antioxidant, antibacterial, anticancer, and antiinflammatory activities. Those molecules are also well recognized as organoleptic food enhancers, affecting color and taste properties. This chapter intends to systematically review the use of electro-based technologies in extraction of PPs addressing the most promising and successful extraction strategies, as well as to identify phenolic molecules that can present more interesting properties after their retrieval for a potential route of valorization.