Extraction of Galactolipids from Waste By-Products: The Feasibility of Green Chemistry Methods

Abstract

Galactolipids are a class of lipids present, inter alia, in the plastid membranes of plant cells. Apart from their biological significance, they are recognized as an important group of bioactive agents, especially in the treatment of osteoarthritis. The aim of this research was to evaluate the usefulness of the green chemistry approach in the extraction of these compounds. Waste products of food processing were selected as a raw material to improve the sustainability of the process even further, and their galactolipid content was investigated using an LC-MS analysis. The rosehip pomace, which was recognized as the most promising amongst materials used in this study, was subjected to supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) and ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE). It transpired that SFE using pure CO2 was not an effective method for the extraction of galactolipids, although the use of ethanol as a cosolvent favored the separation. The results of UAE were also very promising—the improvement of the extraction yield up to 74% was observed. The green chemistry approaches used for galactolipid isolation were compared with a conventional processing method and proved to be an interesting alternative.