Technological solutions for enhancing the efficiency of supercritical fluid extraction of biologically active substances from plant raw materials

Objectives. The development of technological solutions aimed at increasing the efficiency of supercritical fluid extraction of polar biologically active substances from plant materials is a priority direction due to the demand for such substances in the food and pharmaceutical industries. The aim of this study is to develop an approach for stabilizing extractant composition by continuously feeding a polar cosolvent into a supercritical carbon dioxide flow.

Methods. The study was carried out on blackcurrant (Ribes nigrum L.) fruits, which contain polyphenols, one of the most difficultto-extract compounds. Two types of prepared raw materials were used: heat-dried at 50°C for 48 h; freeze-dried at a pressure of 68 Pa and a temperature of up to 25°C for 48 h. Extracts were obtained by supercritical fluid extraction in a 250-mL high-pressure extractor. The process was carried out at a temperature of 50°C and a pressure of 200 bar in different modes: using pure CO2; with the addition of ethanol; with the addition of acetone; and employing different methods for feeding the extractant into the high-pressure extractor.

Results. The highest efficiency of polyphenol extraction was achieved using heat drying of the raw materials in combination with a continuous supply of ethanol as a cosolvent, which enabled the highest yields of extract (22.47 wt %) and polyphenols (4.95 wt %). The experiments confirmed that the modes using acetone provide a high yield of extractive substances; however, their use is limited by the toxicity of the solvent, whereas a continuous supply of ethanol is a more promising and safer method for process intensification. Рeat-dried samples consistently demonstrated higher yields of both extract and target polyphenols in comparison with freeze-dried raw materials in all extraction modes studied.

Conclusions. The choice of drying method at the stage of raw material preparation is shown to have a significant impact on extraction efficiency: heat drying provides a higher extract yield than freeze drying. The experiments confirmed that the addition of polar cosolvents increased the solubility of polyphenols. While the highest efficiency among single-addition modes was achieved using acetone, ethanol is recommended due to its non-toxicity. By using a continuous flow of a cosolvent instead of its a single addition, the total extract yield is increased by 6.4 times, and the polyphenol content by 17 times. The proposed universal approach can be applied to the extraction of a wide range of polar compounds; even higher efficiency is expected for less polar substances.

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