| Title: | Cloud point extraction of chlorophylls from spinach leaves using aqueous solutions of non-ionic surfactants |
| Author(s): | Leite AC; Ferreira AM; Morais ES; Khan I; Freire MG; Coutinho JAP; |
| Address: | "CICECO - Aveiro Institute of Materials, Department of Chemistry, University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal. Department of Chemistry, College of Science, Sultan Qaboos University, P.C. 123 Al-Khod, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman" |
| DOI: | 10.1021/acssuschemeng.7b02931 |
| ISSN/ISBN: | 2168-0485 (Print) 2168-0485 (Electronic) 2168-0485 (Linking) |
| Abstract: | "Chlorophylls and their derivatives are currently used in a wide range of applications. To replace the volatile organic solvents commonly applied for their extraction from biomass, aqueous solutions of non-ionic surfactants are studied herein in the extraction of chlorophylls from spinach leaves. Aqueous solutions of several surfactants were screened, demonstrating that their hydrophilic-lipophilic balance (HLB) plays the pivotal role on the extraction performance, with the best results obtained for surfactants with a HLB ranging between 10 and 13. A response surface methodology (RSM) was then used to optimize operational conditions (surfactant concentration, solid-liquid ratio and temperature), leading to a maximum extraction yield of chlorophylls of 0.94 mg/g. After the extraction step, the chlorophylls-rich extract was concentrated by heating above the surfactant-water cloud point, leading to the separation into two-phases, and to a concentration factor of 9 and a recovery of 97% of chlorophylls in the surfactant-rich phase. The antioxidant activity of the extracts was finally appraised, showing that the antioxidant activity of the aqueous chlorophylls-rich extracts is higher than that obtained with volatile organic solvents. The obtained results show the potential of aqueous solutions of non-ionic surfactants to extract highly hydrophobic compounds from biomass and their possible direct use in cosmetic and nutraceutical applications, without requiring an additional recovery or purification step" |
| Keywords: | "Solid-liquid extraction antioxidant activity aqueous solutions concentration non-ionic surfactants spinach leaves, chlorophylls;" |
| Notes: | "PubMed-not-MEDLINELeite, Ana Claudia Ferreira, Ana M Morais, Eduarda S Khan, Imran Freire, Mara G Coutinho, Joao A P eng 337753/ERC_/European Research Council/International 2018/10/03 ACS Sustain Chem Eng. 2018 Jan 2; 6(1):590-599. doi: 10.1021/acssuschemeng.7b02931. Epub 2017 Nov 8" |
