Enhanced recovery of rare ginsenosides and bioactive compounds from red ginseng marc using CO2-Assisted subcritical water

• Published in: Journal of industrial and engineering chemistry (Seoul, Korea) Vol. 138; pp. 403 - 414
• Main Authors: Cao, Ruqian, Aye Myint, Aye, Wulandari, Sabrinna, Choi, Jongho, Kim, Jaehoon
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 25.10.2024
• Subjects: Antioxidants; Bioactive compounds; CO2-assisted subcritical water extraction; Rare ginsenosides; Red ginseng marc; Antioxidants; Red ginseng marc; Bioactive compounds; CO2-assisted subcritical water extraction; Rare ginsenosides
• ISSN: 1226-086X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jiec.2024.04.017

[Display omitted] •Extraction of rare ginsenosides and bioactive compounds was enhanced by CO2.•CO2 facilitated hydrolysis of red ginseng marc components.•Sugars, rare ginsenoside, and phenolics were major extracted species.•CO2-subH2O exhibited 3.5 times higher antioxidant activity than conventional methods.•Reaction pathways for the production of rare ginsenosides were proposed. Subcritical water extraction (SWE) is a high-efficiency and environmentally sustainable technique for extracting bioactive compounds from red ginseng marc (RGM). In this study, CO2 was introduced into the SWE system as a green catalyst to enhance the extraction efficiency of biologically active compounds from RGM. A wide range of parameters, such as temperature (140–180 °C), pressure (10–20 MPa), and time (10–60 min), were optimized using response surface methodology to maximize the recovery of highly valuable bioactive components, including rare ginsenosides (RGs), total phenolic contents (TPCs), and Maillard reaction products (MRPs), as well as the antioxidant activity of the RGM extract. The extract obtained using CO2-assisted SWE (CO2-SWE) under the optimal conditions (172 °C, 10 MPa, and 10 min) was enriched in RGs (1.02–2.16 times), TPCs (0.98–4.68 times), and MRPs (1.08–2.20 times) and exhibited enhanced antioxidant activities (1.07–3.50 times) compared with the extracts produced by conventional SWE (N2 environment) and Soxhlet extraction with H2O or 80 vol% ethanol. Thus, CO2-SWE is an environmentally friendly and nontoxic technique with considerable potential for use in the pharmaceutical, cosmeceutical, and functional food sectors.