Cyclodextrins-Assisted Extraction for the Recovery of Bioactive Compounds from Rosemary Post-Distillation Residues-In...

Area of Science:

• Green Chemistry
• Natural Product Chemistry
• Food Science

Background:

• Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis L.) post-distillation residues are by-products from essential oil extraction.
• Valorization of these residues can yield valuable bioactive compounds.
• Cyclodextrins (CDs) are explored as green co-solvents for enhanced extraction.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the use of cyclodextrins (CDs) for extracting bioactive compounds from rosemary residues.
• To optimize extraction parameters including time, liquid-to-solid ratio, CD type (β-CD, HP-β-CD), and CD concentration.
• To evaluate the antioxidant potential of the resulting extracts.

Main Methods:

• Cyclodextrin-assisted extraction (CAE) of rosemary residues.
• Assays for total phenolic content (TPC) and total flavonoid content (TFC).
• Evaluation of antioxidant activity using DPPH and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assays.

Main Results:

• CD concentration and liquid-to-solid ratio were key extraction parameters.
• Both β-CD and HP-β-CD significantly improved polyphenol recovery and antioxidant activity compared to conventional solvents.
• HP-β-CD showed slightly superior performance; β-CD-assisted extracts had 4x higher DPPH scavenging capacity than ethanol extracts.

Conclusions:

• Rosemary post-distillation residues can be effectively valorized using CD-assisted extraction.
• This method yields extracts rich in bioactive compounds with significant antioxidant potential.
• CD-assisted extraction presents an efficient, cost-effective, and environmentally friendly approach for sustainable ingredient production.