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Review
. 2023 Jul 26;71(29):10877-10900.
doi: 10.1021/acs.jafc.3c01656. Epub 2023 Jul 11.

The Most Potent Natural Pharmaceuticals, Cosmetics, and Food Ingredients Isolated from Plants with Deep Eutectic Solvents

Agata Wawoczny  1   2 , Danuta Gillner  1   2
Affiliations
Review

The Most Potent Natural Pharmaceuticals, Cosmetics, and Food Ingredients Isolated from Plants with Deep Eutectic Solvents

Agata Wawoczny et al. J Agric Food Chem. .

Abstract

There is growing interest in reducing the number of synthetic products or additives and replacing them with natural ones. The pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and food industries are especially focused on natural and bioactive chemicals isolated from plants or microorganisms. The main challenge here is to develop efficient and ecological methods for their isolation. According to the strategies and rules of sustainable development and green chemistry, green solvents and environmentally friendly technologies must be used. The application of deep eutectic solvents as efficient and biodegradable solvents seems to be a promising alternative to traditional methods. They are classified as being green and ecological but, most importantly, very efficient extraction media compared to organic solvents. The aim of this review is to present the recent findings on green extraction, as well as the biological activities and the possible applications of natural plant ingredients, namely, phenolics, flavonoids, terpenes, saponins, and some others. This paper thoroughly reviews modern, ecological, and efficient extraction methods with the use of deep eutectic solvents (DESs). The newest findings, as well as the factors influencing the efficiency of extraction, such as water content, and hydrogen bond donor and acceptor types, as well as the extraction systems, are also discussed. New solutions to the major problem of separating DESs from the extract and for solvent recycling are also presented.

Keywords: bioactive compounds from plants; bioactive ingredients in cosmetics; deep eutectic solvents; green solvents; natural food additives; natural pharmaceuticals.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing financial interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Wide range of DES applications.−
Figure 2
Figure 2
Advantages (green) and disadvantages (red) of deep eutectic solvents applied as extraction media.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Dependence of HBD in DES and efficiency of extracted metabolites.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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