Abstract
In recent years, great attention has been focused on rapid, selective, and environmentally friendly extraction methods to recover pigments and antioxidants from microalgae. Among these, supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) represents one of the most important alternatives to traditional extraction methods carried out with the use of organic solvents. In this study, the influence of parameters such as pressure, temperature, and the addition of a polar co-solvent in the SFE yields of carotenoids and fat-soluble vitamins from T. obliquus biomass were evaluated. The highest extraction of alpha-tocopherol, gamma-tocopherol, and retinol was achieved at a pressure of 30 MPa and a temperature of 40 °C. It was observed that overall, the extraction yield increased considerably when a preliminary step of sample pre-treatment, based on a matrix solid phase dispersion, was applied using diatomaceous earth as a dispersing agent. The use of ethanol as a co-solvent, under certain conditions of pressure and temperature, resulted in selectively increasing the yields of only some compounds. In particular, a remarkable selectivity was observed if the extraction was carried out in the presence of ethanol at 10 MPa and 40 °C: under these conditions, it was possible to isolate menaquinone-7, a homologous of vitamin K2, which, otherwise, cannot not recovered by using traditional extraction procedures.
Highlights
IntroductionAquatic species are promising sources of products for the fine chemicals industry, and this has aroused a growing interest toward such organisms for several applications such as the production of biofuels, the extraction of food additives or active ingredients for cosmetic formulations [1,2,3].In particular, algae represent an attractive source for the extraction of vitamin K, carotenoids, and other fat-soluble vitamins.Vitamin K is a family of structurally similar chemical compounds including phylloquinone (vitaminK1), which occurs in green plants, and menaquinones (vitamin K2 vitamers), which are predominantly of microbial origin [4,5]
Aquatic species are promising sources of products for the fine chemicals industry, and this has aroused a growing interest toward such organisms for several applications such as the production of biofuels, the extraction of food additives or active ingredients for cosmetic formulations [1,2,3].In particular, algae represent an attractive source for the extraction of vitamin K, carotenoids, and other fat-soluble vitamins.Vitamin K is a family of structurally similar chemical compounds including phylloquinone, which occurs in green plants, and menaquinones, which are predominantly of microbial origin [4,5]
Regarding the vitamin K content in common macroalgae, extremely variable concentrations of phylloquinone have been observed [10,11], it was not detected in P. tricornutum [11], while its concentration reached 750 μg/100 g in Sargassum muticum, which is a significantly higher value than that observed in terrestrial plants [10]
Summary
Aquatic species are promising sources of products for the fine chemicals industry, and this has aroused a growing interest toward such organisms for several applications such as the production of biofuels, the extraction of food additives or active ingredients for cosmetic formulations [1,2,3].In particular, algae represent an attractive source for the extraction of vitamin K, carotenoids, and other fat-soluble vitamins.Vitamin K is a family of structurally similar chemical compounds including phylloquinone (vitaminK1), which occurs in green plants, and menaquinones (vitamin K2 vitamers), which are predominantly of microbial origin [4,5]. Algae represent an attractive source for the extraction of vitamin K, carotenoids, and other fat-soluble vitamins. Vitamin K is a family of structurally similar chemical compounds including phylloquinone K1), which occurs in green plants, and menaquinones (vitamin K2 vitamers), which are predominantly of microbial origin [4,5]. Regarding the vitamin K content in common macroalgae, extremely variable concentrations of phylloquinone have been observed [10,11], it was not detected in P. tricornutum [11], while its concentration reached 750 μg/100 g in Sargassum muticum (commonly known as Japanese wireweed), which is a significantly higher value than that observed in terrestrial plants [10]. To the best of our knowledge, no information on the distribution of menaquinones has so far been reported
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
