Silymarin from Silybum marianum by Naviglio's extractor: a new and very efficient approach

Trends in extracting Agro-byproducts' phenolics using non-thermal technologies and their combinative effect: Mechanisms, potentials, drawbacks, and safety evaluation

The agro-food industries generate significant waste with adverse effects. However, these byproducts are rich in polyphenols with diverse bioactivities. Innovative non-thermal extraction (NTE) technologies (Naviglio extractor®, cold plasma (CP), high hydrostatic pressure (HHP), pulse-electric field (PEF), ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE), etc.) and their combinative effect (integrated UAE + HPPE, integrated PEF + enzyme-assisted extraction, etc.) could improve polyphenolic extraction. Hence, this article comprehensively reviewed the mechanisms, applications, drawbacks, and safety assessment of emerging NTE technologies and their combinative effects in the last 5 years, emphasizing their efficacy in improving agro-byproduct polyphenols' extraction. According to the review, incorporating cutting-edge NTE might promote the extraction ofmore phenolic extractfrom agro-byproducts due to numerous benefits,such as increased extractability,preserved thermo-sensitive phenolics, and low energy consumption. The next five years should investigate combined novel NTE technologies as they increase extractability. Besides, more research must be done on extracting free and bound phenolics, phenolic acids, flavonoids, and lignans from agro by-products. Finally, the safety of the extraction technology on the polyphenolic extract needs a lot of studies (in vivo and in vitro), and their mechanisms need to be explored.

Efficiency of Recovery of the Bioactive Principles of Plants by Comparison between Solid-Liquid Extraction in Mixture and Single-Vegetable Matrices via Maceration and RSLDE

The term "officinal" derives from the Latin and includes all medicinal, aromatic and perfume plant species, which have long been a subject of interest for multiple purposes: health, food, pharmacological, cosmetic and so on. In this work, a study on six different species of medicinal plants, particularly characterized by digestive, choleretic and diuretic properties, was carried out: rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis), sage (Salvia officinalis), laurel (Laurus nobilis), gentian (Gentiana lutea), dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) and rhubarb (Rheum palmatum). The roots and aerial parts of plants were separately extracted with two different techniques-maceration and rapid solid-liquid dynamic extraction (RSLDE)-and the quali/quantitative analysis of active ingredients have been determined by applying dry residue, Folin-Ciocalteu and DPPH assays. Data obtained have provided useful answers regarding the efficiency of the extraction carried out on a mixture or on single plants, allowing us to evaluate the best choice according to the cases and the final uses.

High-Pressure Technologies for the Recovery of Bioactive Molecules from Agro-Industrial Waste

Large amounts of food waste are produced each year. These residues require appropriate management to reduce their environmental impact and, at the same time, economic loss. However, this waste is still rich in compounds (e.g., colorants, antioxidants, polyphenols, fatty acids, vitamins, and proteins) that can find potential applications in food, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic industries. Conventional extraction techniques suffer some drawbacks when applied to the exploitation of food residues, including large amounts of polluting solvents, increased time of extraction, possible degradation of the active molecules during extraction, low yields, and reduced extraction selectivity. For these reasons, advanced extraction techniques have emerged in order to obtain efficient residue exploitation using more sustainable processes. In particular, performing extraction under high-pressure conditions, such as supercritical fluids and pressurized liquid extraction, offers several advantages for the extraction of bioactive molecules. These include the reduced use of toxic solvents, reduced extraction time, high selectivity, and the possibility of being applied in combination in a cascade of progressive extractions. In this review, an overview of high-pressure extraction techniques related to the recovery of high added value compounds from waste generated in food industries is presented and a critical discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of each process is reported. Furthermore, the possibility of combined multi-stage extractions, as well as economic and environmental aspects, are discussed in order to provide a complete overview of the topic.

Cytotoxicity of an Innovative Pressurised Cyclic Solid-Liquid (PCSL) Extract from Artemisia annua

Therapeutic treatments with Artemisia annua have a long-established tradition in various diseases due to its antibacterial, antioxidant, antiviral, anti-malaria and anti-cancer effects. However, in relation to the latter, virtually all reports focused on toxic effects of A. annua extracts were obtained mostly through conventional maceration methods. In the present study, an innovative extraction procedure from A. annua, based on pressurised cyclic solid–liquid (PCSL) extraction, resulted in the production of a new phytocomplex with enhanced anti-cancer properties. This extraction procedure generated a pressure gradient due to compressions and following decompressions, allowing to directly perform the extraction without any maceration. The toxic effects of A. annua PCSL extract were tested on different cells, including three cancer cell lines. The results of this study clearly indicate that the exposure of human, murine and canine cancer cells to serial dilutions of PCSL extract resulted in higher toxicity and stronger propensity to induce apoptosis than that detected by subjecting the same cells to Artemisia extracts obtained through canonical extraction by maceration. Collected data suggest that PCSL extract of A. annua could be a promising and economic new therapeutic tool to treat human and animal tumours.

Emerging challenges in the extraction, analysis and bioanalysis of cannabidiol and related compounds

Cannabidiol (CBD) is a bioactive terpenophenolic compound isolated from Cannabis sativa L. It is known to possess several properties of pharmaceutical interest, such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial, neuroprotective and anti-convulsant, being it active as a multi-target compound. From a therapeutic point of view, CBD is most commonly used for seizure disorder in children. CBD is present in both medical and fiber-type C. sativa plants, but, unlike Δ⁹-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), it is a non-psychoactive compound. Non-psychoactive or fiber-type C. sativa (also known as hemp) differs from the medical one, since it contains only low levels of THC and high levels of CBD and related non-psychoactive cannabinoids. In addition to medical Cannabis, which is used for many different therapeutic purposes, a great expansion of the market of hemp plant material and related products has been observed in recent years, due to its usage in many fields, including food, cosmetics and electronic cigarettes liquids (commonly known as e-liquids). In this view, this work is focused on recent advances on sample preparation strategies and analytical methods for the chemical analysis of CBD and related compounds in both C. sativa plant material, its derived products and biological samples. Since sample preparation is considered to be a crucial step in the development of reliable analytical methods for the determination of natural compounds in complex matrices, different extraction methods are discussed. As regards the analysis of CBD and related compounds, the application of both separation and non-separation methods is discussed in detail. The advantages, disadvantages and applicability of the different methodologies currently available are evaluated. The scientific interest in the development of portable devices for the reliable analysis of CBD in vegetable and biological samples is also highlighted.

Study of the Kinetics of Extraction Process for The Production of Hemp Inflorescences Extracts by Means of Conventional Maceration (CM) and Rapid Solid-Liquid Dynamic Extraction (RSLDE)

In the present work, the kinetics of the extraction process from female inflorescences of Canapa sativa subsp. sativa var. sativa were studied, on the basis of determination of the content of cannabinoids: cannabidiolic acid (CBDA), Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinolic acid (THCA), cannabidiol (CBD) and Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), before and after decarboxylation in the oven, in order to evaluate the possible use of the hemp extract obtained in the food sector. Therefore, both conventional maceration (CM) and rapid solid-liquid dynamic extraction (RSLDE), also known as cyclically pressurized extraction (CPE), were carried out, using parts of the plant approximately of the same size. The alcoholic extracts thus obtained were analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) in order to calculate the percentages of cannabinoids present in the inflorescences and thus be able to evaluate the degree of decarboxylation. Furthermore, the extracts were dried to calculate the percentage of solid material present in it, that was made mainly by cannabinoids. The amount of substance extracted from the inflorescences was about 10% (w/w), for both cases considered. Therefore, the extraction yield was the same in the two cases examined and the final qualities were almost identical. However, the extraction times were significantly different. In fact, the maceration of hemp inflorescences in ethyl alcohol was completed in no less than 24 h, while with the RSLDE the extraction was completed in only 4 h. Finally, for a better understanding of the extraction process with cyclically pressurized extraction, a numerical simulation was carried out which allowed to better evaluate the influence of extractive parameters.