Green extraction of anti-aging polyphenols

Polyphenols have been reported as useful for well-being and longevity and reduce the risk of aging-related chronic diseases [1]. Polyphenols are a type of micronutrient found in plant foods like fruits, vegetables, wholegrains, nuts, red wine, dark chocolate, tea, coffee, spices and herbs. There are over 8000 different types, each with their own linked health benefits and uses. The more colour and diversity we introduce into our diet, the more antioxidants and polyphenols we will obtain, and thus, they may support aging in a natural and healthy way. For those reasons, daily consumption of a controlled amount of fresh fruit, vegetables or supplements is highly recommended. Polyphenol supplements have been around for a while now, offering people the advantage of getting a quick, easy and consistent dose of polyphenols. Polyphenol supplements may contain concentrated polyphenols, but they do not contain the same nutrients, e.g fibre, starch, sugar, vitamins and minerals that polyphenol-rich foods do.

Most companies in the food and pharma industries use conventional extraction methods such as those using solvents, or steam and hydro-distillation. Recent trends in extraction techniques have largely focused on minimizing the use of petroleum-based solvents. Recently, more efficient green extraction methods, such as subcritical water extraction (SWE) and microwave assisted extraction (MAE) have been used for the isolation of polyphenols from various plants [2-4]. These extraction techniques are not only cheaper and faster, but being considered environmentally friendly, they would also enable these products to claim a green label. Having a green label is desirable to many customers. We have recently extracted polyphenols from different plant materials using SWE and MAE technologies at both lab and industrial scale. Various polyphenols (hesperetin, hesperidin, naringin, naringenin, phlorizin, phloretin, thymol, carvacrol) were extracted from citrus peels, apple/cherry barks, origanum any thymbra herbs using green extraction technologies.

References
1. J. Luo, H. Si, Z. Jia, D. Liu. Dietary anti-aging polyphenols and potential mechanisms, Antioxidants, 10 (2021) 283-303.
2. M.Z. Ozel, F. Gogus, A.C. Lewis. Subcritical water extraction of essential oils from Thymbra spicata. Food Chemistry, 82, 3 (2003) 381-386
3. M.Z. Ozel, H. Kaymaz. Superheated water extraction, steam distillation and Soxhlet extraction of essential oils of Origanum onites. Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry, 379 (2004) 1127-1133.
4. N. Mahato, M. Sinha, K. Sharma, R. Koteswararao, M.H. Cho. Modern Extraction and Purification Techniques for Obtaining High Purity Food-Grade Bioactive Compounds and Value-Added Co-Products from Citrus Wastes. Foods, 8 (2019) 523-604.