This work explores the efficiency of supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) to recover minerals, pigments, and antioxidant compounds from the spirulina microalgae. Moreover, the fatty acids and phenolic profiles of the extracts obtained were also investigated, and the effect of the extracts on SH-SY5Y cell viability was tested. The extraction of phycocyanin was improved by SFE compared to conventional extraction, from 2.838 ± 0.081 mg/g dry matter (DM) (control) to 6.438 ± 0.411 mg/g DM (SFE). SFE treatment also improved chlorophyll a and carotenoid recoveries increasing from 5.612 ± 0.547 to 8.645 ± 0.857 mg/g DM and from 0.447 ± 0.096 to 0.651 ± 0.120 mg/g DM, respectively. Regarding minerals, the SFE improved Mg recovery with 77% more than the control extraction. Moreover, palmitoleic, stearic, γ-linolenic, eicosadienoic and eicosatrienoic acids recovery was improved by SFE. Phenolic profiles were identified via triple-TOF-LC-MS-MS. Considering heavy metals, a higher rate of Pb extraction was observed for the SFE extract, while no significant differences were observed for Hg between both extractions. Finally, SFE extract improved cell viability compared to the control extract. Thus, SFE constitutes an interesting tool to sustainably extract high-added-value compounds; however, potential contaminants such as Pb need to be controlled in the resulting extracts.

Currently, the consumption of natural extracts from medicinal plants and fruits present in nature, and the discovery of the many benefits and positive impacts on the human body connected to their intake have favored and promoted research in the field of extraction. For this purpose, in recent years, the extracts of plant parts (leaves, branches, seeds, stem, roots, fruits, etc.) of the genus of Asteriscus, Atriplex, Haloxylon, Ruta, Ficus, Olea, and Zizyphus have been investigated for their several biological properties and therapeutic activities including those as an antioxidant, antitumoral, antiproliferative, hepatoprotective, and antimicrobial. The shortcoming of using conventional methods, such as maceration, Soxhlet solvent extraction, and pressurized hot water, has promoted the development of novel, efficient, economical, and safe extraction techniques to recover the bioactive compounds without losing their quality and properties. Innovative methodologies, such as supercritical fluid technology and pulsed electric field-assisted extraction, have been proposed as sustainable methodologies to isolate nutraceuticals and pharmaceuticals from natural matrices, such as herbs, spices, and aromatic and medicinal plants. This study aimed to obtain extracts from fruits, leaves, and roots of Ziziphus lotus by Supercritical Fluid Extraction (SFE, P = 25 MPa, T = 40 °C, Time = 60 min, Flow = 10 mL/min, Solvent = 90 CO₂:10 Ethanol) and Pulsed Electric Field (PEF, E = 3 kV/cm, Ws = 100 kJ/kg, Solvent = water, followed by 60 min of agitation) assisted extraction and characterize the extracts in terms of total antioxidant capacity (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity (ORAC) and Total Equivalent Antioxidant Capacity (TEAC)), total phenolics, chlorophyll, and carotenoids content. PEF extracts presented an interesting content of total phenolic compounds (TPC): Fruits: 14.8 ± 0.1; Leaves: 31.1 ± 1.8; Roots: 28.8 ± 1.7 mg GAE/g DW. On the other hand, the concentration of TPC in SFE extracts was: Fruits: 5.91 ± 0.2; Leaves: 1.184 ± 0.2; Roots: 5.72 ± 0.8 mg GAE/g DW. Total chlorophyll content (TCC) was: Fruits: 366 ± 1; Leaves: 471 ± 12; Roots: 192 ± 16 mg/g DW in the case of PEF extracts and 5.0 ± 0.3; 97 ± 1; 8.5 ± 0.1 mg/g DW, respectively, in the case of SFE. Finally, the content of carotenoids was 128.0 ± 0.5; 62 ± 1; 169 ± 1 mg/g DW for PEF-extracted fruits, leaves, and roots, respectively, and 5.92 ± 0.04; 19.76 ± 0.02; 4.97 ± 0.04 mg/g DW for SFE extracted fruits, leaves, and roots, respectively. PEF-assisted extraction allowed the recovery of more phenolics, chlorophyll, and carotenoid compounds than SFE. The TEAC was higher for PEF extracts but ORAC was higher for SFE extracts. This could be related to the different polarities of the solvent used for extraction in each technique. Green extraction methodologies represent an efficient and safe extraction technique to recover bioactive compounds without losing their quality and properties.

The Elche palm grove (Spain) produces large surpluses of fresh date fruits due to low industrial processing and strict market standards. This exploratory study assessed the potential of these fruits as sustainable ingredients through the production of freeze-dried date flour and its green hydroethanolic extracts. Computer vision analysis of nine local cultivars (D1–D9) revealed broad chromatic and phenotypic diversity. Mineral and heavy metal analyses in the flour indicated high nutritional value and overall safety: D8 was richest in Mg (1.23 mg/g), P (0.78 mg/g), Fe (15.32 mg/kg), Zn (9.20 mg/kg), Cu (5.22 mg/kg), and Se (68 µg/kg), while D4 showed the highest K (22.1 mg/g) and D1 the highest Ca (1.94 mg/g). Lead and cadmium were highest in D8 and arsenic in D1, although all values remained within the regulatory limits. Hydroethanolic extracts exhibited remarkable compositional variability: D4 and D5 had the greatest carbohydrates (737.70 ± 55.79 mg/g DM), D8 and D9 the highest proteins (up to 40.31 ± 1.33 mg/g DM), and D2 and D8 the highest carotenoids (up to 36.44 ± 1.55 μg/g DM). D8 also showed the highest phenolics (13.98 ± 2.93 mg GAE/g DM) and antioxidant capacity. Cytotoxicity assays in Caco-2 cells showed no significant effects up to 1000 µg/mL. These preliminary findings suggest that green-extracted date fractions may combine nutritional richness, antioxidant potential, and biological safety, providing a basis for future studies on their application as natural and sustainable food ingredients.

There is a great demand for the recovery of bioactive compounds from by-products and side streams in the food and cosmetic industries. More sustainable extraction methodologies are being chosen, such as pulsed electric field (PEF) assisted extraction, supercritical fluid extraction (SFE), pressurized liquid extraction (PLE), and ultrasound-assisted extraction. Endemic fruits represent a great and little-explored source of biomolecules that can become potential candidates for the study of new drugs and support the use of native species in functional foods or nutraceuticals. Some phenolics from Chilean fruits proved to have potential in the prevention of non-communicable or chronic diseases. The study aimed to produce polyphenolic-rich extracts from corcolen (Azara dentata Ruiz & Pav) by non-thermal methodologies. Two extracts were obtained by means of SFE, using CO₂ and ethanol as co-solvents, and PLE using water as a solvent. The total antioxidant capacity, total phenolic content, carbohydrates, and proteins of both extracts were analyzed. The resulting phenolic content of the extracts obtained by SFE and PLE was 5.37 ± 0.38 and 21.17 ± 0.57 mg GAE/g sample, respectively. The total antioxidant capacity was 3.22 ± 0.47 and 18.05 ± 1.25 mg Trolox/g sample for the SFE and PLE extracts, respectively. Moreover, corcolen composition was characterized by LC-TTOF chromatography, being chrysoeriol 7-O-glucoside, isorhamnetin 7-O-rhamnoside, isorhoifolin, rhoifolin, kaempferol 3-O-feruloyl-sophoroside 7-O-glucoside, kaempferol 3-O-feruloyl-sophorotrioside, spinacetin 3-O-(2-p-coumaroylglucosyl) (1->6)-apiosyl (1->2)-glucoside, cyanidin 3-O-(-xylosyl-(6-caffeoyl-glucosyl)-galactoside), the eight more predominant flavonoids. The different extraction methodologies allowed the obtaining of extracts with an interesting antioxidant capacity, rich in polyphenols, that could potentially find several applications as dietary supplements, ingredients for cosmetic formulations, or additives in food.