Various novel techniques including ultrasound-assisted extraction, microwave-assisted extraction, supercritical fluid extraction, and accelerated solvent extraction have been developed for the extraction of nutraceuticals from plants in order to shorten the extraction time, decrease the solvent consumption, increase the extraction yield, and enhance the quality of extracts. A critical review was conducted to introduce and compare the conventional Soxhlet extraction and the new alternative methods used for the extraction of nutraceuticals from plants. The practical issues of each extraction method were discussed. Potential uses of those methods for the extraction of nutraceuticals from plant materials was finally summarized.

Recent advances in extraction of nutraceuticals from plants

Along more than a decade, R&D on supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) of vegetable matrices has been increasingly reported in the literature. Aiming at portraying the current state of this field and its evolution in terms of raw materials, products, modes of operation, optimization, modeling techniques, and closeness to industrial application, a large compilation of almost 600 essays from 2000 to 2013 has been deeply analyzed in order to unveil those indicators and their trends. Furthermore, strengths and weaknesses are identified, and some remarks that may drive upcoming research are provided. Globally, more than 300 species are reported in the literature, with prevalence of the extraction of seeds (28% of works) and leaves (17%). The main families of extracted compounds, cosolvents and operating conditions adopted are critically examined, being possible to conclude that researchers investigate many times working regions far from the optimum due to practical limitations or absence of experimental optimization. Current phenomenological, statistical and semi-empirical approaches are reviewed, along with scale-up studies, and economic analysis. In the whole, the most comprehensive picture over SFE of vegetable matrices is provided in this review, highlighting pertinent aspects and opportunities that may further consolidate the convincing route of this technology for the next years.

Supercritical fluid extraction of vegetable matrices: Applications, trends and future perspectives of a convincing green technology

Tree nuts contain an array of phytochemicals including carotenoids, phenolic acids, phytosterols and polyphenolic compounds such as flavonoids, proanthocyanidins (PAC) and stilbenes, all of which are included in nutrient databases, as well as phytates, sphingolipids, alkylphenols and lignans, which are not. The phytochemical content of tree nuts can vary considerably by nut type, genotype, pre- and post-harvest conditions, as well as storage conditions. Genotype affects phenolic acids, flavonoids, stilbenes and phytosterols, but data are lacking for many other phytochemical classes. During the roasting process, tree nut isoflavones, flavanols and flavonols were found to be more resistant to heat than the anthocyanins, PAC and trans-resveratrol. The choice of solvents used for extracting polyphenols and phytosterols significantly affects their quantification, and studies validating these methods for tree nut phytochemicals are lacking. The phytochemicals found in tree nuts have been associated with antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-proliferative, antiviral, chemopreventive and hypocholesterolaemic actions, all of which are known to affect the initiation and progression of several pathogenic processes. While tree nut phytochemicals are bioaccessible and bioavailable in humans, the number of intervention trials conducted to date is limited. The objectives of the present review are to summarise tree nut: (1) phytochemicals; (2) phytochemical content included in nutrient databases and current publications; (3) phytochemicals affected by pre- and post-harvest conditions and analytical methodology; and (4) bioactivity and health benefits in humans.

/pdf/tree-nut-phytochemicals-composition-antioxidant-capacity-450e7e5sj5.pdf

Tree nut phytochemicals: composition, antioxidant capacity, bioactivity, impact factors. A systematic review of almonds, Brazils, cashews, hazelnuts, macadamias, pecans, pine nuts, pistachios and walnuts.

Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) of the -3 and -6 class (e.g. -linolenic acid, linoleic acid) are essential for maintaining biofunctions in mammalians like humans. Due to the fact that humans cannot synthesize these essential fatty acids, they must be taken up from different food sources. Classical sources for these fatty acids are porcine liver and fish oil. However, microbial lipids or single cell oils, produced by oleaginous microorganisms such as algae, fungi and bacteria, are a promising source as well. These single cell oils can be used for many valuable chemicals with applications not only for nutrition but also for fuels and are therefore an ideal basis for a bio-based economy. A crucial point for the establishment of microbial lipids utilization is the cost-effective production and purification of fuels or products of higher value. The fermentative production can be realized by submerged (SmF) or solid state fermentation (SSF). The yield and the composition of the obtained microbial lipids depend on the type of fermentation and the particular conditions (e.g. medium, pH-value, temperature, aeration, nitrogen source). From an economical point of view, waste or by-product streams can be used as cheap and renewable carbon and nitrogen sources. In general, downstream processing costs are one of the major obstacles to be solved for full economic efficiency of microbial lipids. For the extraction of lipids from microbial biomass cell disruption is most important, because efficiency of cell disruption directly influences subsequent downstream operations and overall extraction efficiencies. A multitude of cell disruption and lipid extraction methods are available, conventional as well as newly emerging methods, which will be described and discussed in terms of large scale applicability, their potential in a modern biorefinery and their influence on product quality. Furthermore, an overview is given about applications of microbial lipids or derived fatty acids with emphasis on food applications.

/pdf/production-strategies-and-applications-of-microbial-single-2rj7kw3zql.pdf

Production Strategies and Applications of Microbial Single Cell Oils

Nineteen cultivars of hazelnuts (Corylus avellana L.) collected during the 2001 crop, from Vila Real, Portugal, were analysed for chemical composition, including moisture, total oil content, crude protein, ash, carbohydrates and nutritional value. Fat was the predominant component, ranging from 59.3 to 69.0%. Total oil was extracted and analysed for fatty acid and sterol compositions and oxidative stability. Fatty acid and sterol compositions were determined by Gas–Liquid Chromatography coupled to a Flame Ionisation Detector (GLC/FID). Monounsaturated fatty acids, particularly oleic acid, were predominant (78.7–84.6%). Total phytosterol content ranged from 133.8 to 263.0 mg/100 g of oil. Among the nine sterols identified and quantified, β-sitosterol was the major one with a mean percentage of 83.6%, while Δ5-avenasterol and campesterol were the second and the third components of the group with mean values of 6.1 and 5.8%, respectively. Since hazelnut oil can be used in olive oil adulteration, the values obtained were compared with published mean values of olive oils from different geographical origins.

/pdf/characterization-of-several-hazelnut-corylus-avellana-l-4tzy56ij3t.pdf

Characterization of several hazelnut (Corylus avellana L.) cultivars based in chemical, fatty acid and sterol composition

Hazelnut (Corylus avellana L.) oil was extracted with compressed carbon dioxide in the temperature range of 308—321 K and in the pressure range of 18—23.4 MPa. In addition the influence of the superficial velocity, within a tubular extractor was studied. Physical and chemical characteristics of the oil were obtained. The results including contents of free fatty acids, sterols, triacylglycerols and tocopherols were compared with those obtained when n-hexane was used as solvent. No significant differences were found when the oils extracted by both methods were analysed. The main fatty acid was the oleic acid (83—85%), followed by linoleic acid (6—8%) and palmitic acid (5—6%).



The main triglyceride found in hazelnut oils was the trioleylglycerol (OOO) (63.4—69.6%), followed by the linoleyl-dioleylglycerol (LOO) (11.6—15.5%) and palmitoyl-dioleylglycerol (POO) (9.9—10.4%). In terms of sterols, the main component was β-sitos-terol (∼83%) followed by campesterol (∼6%). The amount of cholesterol was very low (∼0.2%). The CO2 extracted oil contained about 17% more tocopherols (458.7 μg/g oil) than the oil extracted by n-hexane (382.8 μg/g). Oxidative stability was studied by using the induction time determined by the Rancimat method. The oil obtained by supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) was slightly more protected against oxidation (8.7 h for SFE extracted oil and 6.7 h for the hazelnut oil extracted with n-hexane). Both oils presented high stability index values (7.81 for the oil extracted by n-hexane and 8.7 for the oil extracted with supercritical CO2).



Oil extracted by supercritical CO2 was clearer than the one extracted by n-hexane, showing some refining. Besides, the acidity index was 1.6 for the n-hexane extracted oil and 0.9 for the oil extracted with supercritical carbon dioxide.



The central composite non-factorial design was used to optimise the extraction conditions, using the Statistica, version 5 software (Statsoft). The best results, in terms of recoveries of hazelnut oil by SFE, were found at 22.5 MPa, 308 K and superficial velocity of 6.0 × 10—4 ms—1.

João Grenha

Papers

Supercritical fluid extraction and characterisation of oil from hazelnut