2026-04-21T07:42:11Zhttps://riubu.ubu.es/oai/request

oai:riubu.ubu.es:10259/114352026-02-27T01:05:49Zcom_10259_4323com_10259_5086com_10259_2604col_10259_4330

Escobedo Monge, María Antonieta Huerta Sainz, Sergio de la Marcos Villa, Pedro A. Esteban-Ollo, José Antonio Montejo-Gil, Laura Conde-Rioll, María Atilhan, Mert Bol Arreba, Alfredo Aparicio Martínez, Santiago 2026-02-26T07:22:49Z 2026-02-26T07:22:49Z 2025-06 1935-5130 https://hdl.handle.net/10259/11435 10.1007/s11947-025-03896-5 1935-5149 The extraction and purification of high-value phytosterol compounds from plant-derived feedstocks remains an important challenge in the fields of nutraceuticals, functional foods, and pharmaceutical applications. Conventional solvent-based extraction methods often rely on volatile, toxic, petroleum-derived solvents that raise sustainability concerns. Conventional solvent-based extraction methods often rely on volatile, toxic, petroleum-derived solvents such as n-hexane, ethanol, petroleum ether, or dichloromethane, which are considered volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and raise sustainability concerns. Natural Deep Eutectic Solvents (NADES) have emerged as alternative and promising green solvents for the selective recovery of phytosterols. In this work, we employ COSMO-RS (COnductor-like Screening MOdel for Real Solvents) modelling to systematically design and screen a large library of NADES formulations, with natural compounds as components, for the efficient extraction from vegetable sources of 19 typically occurring phytosterols. The COSMO-RS methodology allows the simulation of each NADES property, including their melting point and composition. It also calculates the activity coefficients with the phytosterols that will be used to rule out unsuitable combinations and evaluates toxicological parameters to assess their safety. After conducting nearly 2000 solubility tests, NADES demonstrated 1.5 to 5 times higher extractive capacity than common solvents for all phytosterols, with significantly lower volatilities. Finally, the use of NADES, especially the carvacrol-menthol mixture, significantly improves the extraction of phytosterols compared to conventional solvents, offering a more efficient, safe, and sustainable alternative, capable of dissolving a wide range of phytosterols. pen access funding provided by FEDER European Funds and the Junta de Castilla y León under the Research and Innovation Strategy for Smart Specialization (RIS3) of Castilla y León 2021-2027. This work was funded by the European Union (Horizon Program, Ref: HORIZON-CL4-2022-RESILIENCE-01-Convert2 green-GA 101092347) and the Junta de Castilla y León (Spain, Project NADESforNature, Ref.: BU047P23). application/pdf eng Springer Food and Bioprocess Technology. 2025, V. 18, n, 8, p. 7646–7660 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11947-025-03896-5 Atribución 4.0 Internacional http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess Natural Deep Eutectic Solvents Phytosterol extraction COSMO-RS modelling Sustainable separation Plant-derived bioactives Fitoquímica Química ambiental Botanical chemistry Environmental chemistry Rational Design of Eco-Friendly Deep Eutectic Solvent Systems for the Recovery of High-Value Phytosterol Compounds info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion Food and Bioprocess Technology 18 8 7646 7660