RT info:eu-repo/semantics/article
T1 Rational Design of Eco-Friendly Deep Eutectic Solvent Systems for the Recovery of High-Value Phytosterol Compounds
A1 Escobedo Monge, María Antonieta
A1 Huerta Sainz, Sergio de la
A1 Marcos Villa, Pedro A.
A1 Esteban-Ollo, José Antonio
A1 Montejo-Gil, Laura
A1 Conde-Rioll, María
A1 Atilhan, Mert
A1 Bol Arreba, Alfredo
A1 Aparicio Martínez, Santiago
K1 Natural Deep Eutectic Solvents
K1 Phytosterol extraction
K1 COSMO-RS modelling
K1 Sustainable separation
K1 Plant-derived bioactives
K1 Fitoquímica
K1 Botanical chemistry
K1 Química ambiental
K1 Environmental chemistry
AB 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.
PB Springer
SN 1935-5130
YR 2025
FD 2025-06
LK https://hdl.handle.net/10259/11435
UL https://hdl.handle.net/10259/11435
LA eng
NO 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).
DS Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Burgos
RD 03-jun-2026