Abstract
The move towards environmentally friendly processing has been a driving force for research into green methods for the extraction of bioactive compounds from plant materials. In this study, a green and efficient process for the extraction of β-carotene from sea buckthorn berries through the simultaneous use of ultrasound and microwave, using a novel green solvent, fatty acid ethyl esters (FAEE), is described. For the same extraction time (45 min), the β-carotene content in the extract was significantly increased (according to ANOVA analysis—p < 0.05) by the simultaneous use of ultrasound and microwave, compared with the separate use of these technologies—an increase of 15 and 89% compared with ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) and microwave-assisted extraction (MAE), respectively. The resulting extract can be used directly, without further purification, as a food supplement because the solvent itself is safe for consumption. Furthermore, FAEE contains omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids which add to the health benefits of the extract. When β-carotene is extracted from the plant matrix, it is subjected to degradation due to oxidation, but the addition of the antioxidant vitamin E (13 mg/mL of extract) to the extract extends its stability to more than 90 days at room temperature even when exposed to light. The addition of vitamin E also enhances the health benefits of the extract.
Original language | English |
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Article number | 416 |
Number of pages | 12 |
Journal | Agronomy |
Volume | 14 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 21 Feb 2024 |
Bibliographical note
This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).Funder
This work was supported by a grant from the National Program for Research of the National Association of Technical Universities—GNAC ARUT 2023.Keywords
- β-carotene
- fatty acid ethyl esters
- ultrasound
- microwave
- sea buckthorn berries
- nutraceuticals