Issue 8, 2024

Extraction of bioactive compounds from beach-cast brown algae: a review on accelerated solvent extraction and subcritical water extraction

Abstract

Brown algae accumulation on beaches, or beach-cast, can lead to negative environmental impacts. However, beach-cast brown algae harvested from coastlines is a potential resource of bioactive compounds for use in food, biomaterial, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical industries. The extraction and subsequent separation and purification of bioactive compounds using conventional Solid–Liquid Extraction (SLE) requires improvement for sustainability and efficiency. Subcritical water processes are a potential “greener” approach in extraction without a decrease in process performance. This review outlines the bioactive compounds (alginate, fucoidan, laminarin, phenolic compounds, and fucoxanthin) in beach-cast brown algae and summarizes and compares conventional SLE and pressurized water methods: Accelerated Solvent Extraction (ASE) and Subcritical Water Extraction (SCWE). ASE is typically used in characterization/analysis, while SCWE is more appropriate for production. Extraction rate models and challenges related to scale-up in ASE and SCWE are also reviewed. ASE and SCWE can selectively extract bioactive compounds by modifying temperature/pressure and solvent combinations, and minimize extraction time, maximize yields and rates, and reduce chemical/solvent usage compared to SLE. However, kinetic modeling and scaling up of pressurized systems for brown algae valorization is still in its infancy. Future research is required to determine the green solvent combinations, develop batches into continuous processes, balance extraction conditions with product quantity and purity, and scale up for industrial-scale production.

Graphical abstract: Extraction of bioactive compounds from beach-cast brown algae: a review on accelerated solvent extraction and subcritical water extraction

Transparent peer review

To support increased transparency, we offer authors the option to publish the peer review history alongside their article.

View this article’s peer review history

Article information

Article type
Critical Review
Submitted
29 Apr 2024
Accepted
22 Jun 2024
First published
24 Jun 2024
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY-NC license

RSC Sustain., 2024,2, 2069-2091

Extraction of bioactive compounds from beach-cast brown algae: a review on accelerated solvent extraction and subcritical water extraction

Y. Zhang, K. Hawboldt and S. MacQuarrie, RSC Sustain., 2024, 2, 2069 DOI: 10.1039/D4SU00204K

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications, without requesting further permission from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given and it is not used for commercial purposes.

To request permission to reproduce material from this article in a commercial publication, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party commercial publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements