Mushrooms are a raw material rich in many nutritional compounds, and that is why a number of them are widely known as functional food. They contain fatty acids, carbohydrates, lycopene, sterols, lovastatin, trace elements, and other valuable compounds that show a wide range of properties, such as hepatoprotective, anticancer, antiviral, etc. For more efficient utilisation of mushrooms’ biologically active substances, widespread supercritical carbon dioxide extraction (Sc-CO₂) was used as an efficient way to isolate the high-value phytoconstituents from this type of raw material. Using Sc-CO₂, the extracts of five types of edible mushrooms—Lycoperdon saccatum, Pleurotus ostreatus, Craterellus cornucopioides, Russula Cyanoxantha and Cantharellus cibarius—were obtained. During the Sc-CO₂ process, the extraction time was reduced to 4 h compared to the prolonged process time applied in the typical traditional techniques (6–24 h). The extraction pressure (30 MPa) and temperature (40 °C) were constant. Fatty acids and the compounds of steroid structures were determined in the obtained extracts using GC–MS and GC–FID methods of analysis. The dominant compounds identified in the lipid extracts were fatty acids (linoleic, oleic, palmitic and stearic) and sterols (ergosterol, 7,22-ergostadienone and 7,22-ergostadienol). For complete insight into the process and to obtain the value of the extracts, chemometric analysis is provided. Principal component analysis (PCA) and hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA), as well as k-means clustering, showed that Craterellus cornucopioides was distinguished based on the extraction yield results.

This research explored the potential of pressurised liquid extraction techniques for valorising herbal orange peel dust (OPD) waste from the filter tea industry. A series of experiments were conducted, varying the temperature (120–220 °C) and solvent (water and 50% (v/v) ethanol), while pressure and time were kept constant. Afterward, the obtained extracts were analysed by LC-ESI-MS/MS for determining the chemical composition. The highest concentrations of the most dominant compounds, the antioxidants hesperidin (662.82 ± 22.11 mg/L) and naringin (62.37 ± 2.05 mg/L), were found at specific temperatures using subcritical water extraction. In silico studies indicated that these compounds could interact with sirtuin-1 and growth factor beta receptors, suggesting potential anti-ageing benefits for skin. In vitro experiments on rat hepatoma cells (H4IIE) revealed that OPD extracts had antitumor potential, inhibiting cell proliferation and altering cell morphology. These findings underscore the importance of temperature and extraction technique in obtaining antioxidant-rich extracts with pharmacological potential. The resulting extracts, obtained using green solvents, show promise for cosmetic applications, though further in vivo studies are needed to confirm their therapeutic efficacy.

Despite its rich bioactive composition, orange peel dust (OPD), a fine industrial by-product generated during citrus processing in the filter tea industry, has not received much attention as a valuable matrix. Using antioxidant activity (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), 2,2′-azino-bis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS), and reducing power (RP)), α-amylase inhibitory activity, antimicrobial potential, and sugar composition as function-oriented indicators, this study aimed to compare four green extraction technologies: subcritical water extraction (SWE), pressurized ethanol extraction (PEE), ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE), and sequential supercritical CO₂–UAE (Sc-CO₂–UAE) applied to OPD derived from Citrus sinensis L. Among thermally driven techniques, PEE at 220 °C had the highest radical-scavenging activity, while UAE showed the broadest antifungal activity against Fusarium spp. and Alternaria alternata, along with selective antibacterial activity against Bacillus cereus. Sequential Sc-CO₂ pretreatment at 300 bar followed by UAE resulted in the highest α-amylase inhibitory activity. Sugar analysis indicated that thermal conditions enhanced carbohydrate hydrolysis, while UAE and Sc-CO₂-UAE maintained structural sugars under mild conditions. All green extraction approaches outperformed conventional maceration. These findings validate OPD as a valuable industrial by-product suitable for sustainable valorization, supporting circular economy concepts in the citrus processing sector.

Farmed Atlantic salmon skin-on trimmings were valorized through a sequential process combining supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO₂) extraction with protein recovery from the resulting defatted residue. Freeze-dried material was extracted at 40 °C and 100, 200, and 300 bar for 540 min to evaluate the effect of pressure on extraction yield. The highest yield among the tested conditions was obtained at 300 bar (28.08%), and this extract was selected for further characterization. It contained 98.55 g/100 g lipids, with oleic acid as the predominant fatty acid, together with EPA, DHA, and astaxanthin (215.43 µg/mL), and showed concentration-dependent ABTS radical-scavenging activity (IC₅₀ ≈ 109 mg/mL). The corresponding defatted biomass was subsequently subjected to conventional and ultrasound-assisted pH-shift protein recovery. Ultrasound assistance increased protein yield from 36.70 to 47.91 g/100 g. Both isolates contained more than 91 g/100 g protein and had similar amino acid profiles, with essential amino acids accounting for approximately 41% of total amino acids. Ultrasound treatment also improved protein solubility, water-holding capacity, and ABTS radical-scavenging activity, whereas the conventionally recovered isolate showed higher oil-holding capacity. These results support the sequential recovery of lipid- and protein-rich fractions from the same salmon-processing by-product.

The selection of a suitable extraction medium is a key step in the recovery of carotenoids from complex food-processing matrices. In this study, COSMOtherm screening was combined with experimental solvent evaluation and ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) to recover carotenoids from freeze-dried Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) skin-on trimmings. Ninety deep eutectic solvent (DES) combinations were screened according to the activity coefficient of astaxanthin at infinite dilution (lnγ), and five DES were selected for experimental testing. Menthol:octanoic acid (MeC8, 1:1) had the lowest predicted lnγ (−1.94) and also gave the highest total carotenoid content (TCC), 11.48 μg AE/g FDSM. This value was approximately 3.3 times higher than that obtained with water and 4.0 times higher than with 70% ethanol. MeC8 was therefore used for further UAE experiments. Preliminary tests showed that increasing extraction time beyond 15 min did not improve carotenoid recovery. Ultrasound power, extraction time, and sample mass were then investigated using a Box-Behnken design. A significant linear model was obtained (p = 0.0012), with sample mass being the only significant individual factor (p = 0.0002). Numerical optimization gave conditions of 20% ultra-sound power (40W), 15 min extraction time, and 0.50 g sample mass, with a predicted TCC of 30.68 μg AE/g FDSM. The experimental value obtained under these conditions was 31.74 ± 0.96 μg AE/g FDSM, corresponding to a relative deviation of 3.46%. Overall, the combined computational and experimental approach enabled the selection of MeC8 and the definition of suitable UAE conditions for carotenoid recovery from salmon processing by-products.

Traditional plant extraction methods commonly employ hazardous solvents that threaten human health. Considering these, the study sought to explore the efficacy of seven distinct types of apple cider vinegar (ACV) as an alternative solvent for isolating polyphenols from dry elderberries as a raw material. In the pursuit of identifying the most suitable solvent, a conventional solid-liquid extraction was executed, with a comparative assessment involving three different ethanol solution solvents (30%, 50%, and 70%, (v/v)). Subsequently, once the optimal solvent was determined, an ultrasound-assisted extraction was carried out. The optimization process encompassed a range of sonication amplitudes (20-100%) and extraction durations spanning from 120 to 360 s. The extracts’ characterization, including extraction yield and total phenolic content, was performed to ascertain the most favorable extraction parameters. The utilization of ACV in conjunction with a sonication amplitude of 100% and an extraction duration of 360 s yielded the highest TPC, amounting to 84.44 mg GAE/g dry extract (DE). In contrast, the lowest ethanol concentration (30%) produced the highest TPC, reaching 101.70 mg GAE/g DE when a sonication amplitude of 100% and an extraction time of 120 s were applied.