abstract
Forestry biomass is a by-product which commonly ends up being burnt for energy generation, despite comprising valuable bioactive compounds with valorisation potential. Leaves of Acacia dealbata were extracted for the first time by supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) using different conditions of pressure, temperature and cosolvents. Total extraction yield, individual triterpenoids extraction yields and concentrations were assessed and contrasted with Soxhlet extractions using solvents of distinct polarity. The extracts were characterized by gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and target triterpenoids were quantified. The total extraction yields ranged from 1.76 to 11.58 wt.% and the major compounds identified were fatty acids, polyols, and, from the triterpenoids family, lupenone, alpha-amyrin and beta-amyrin. SFE was selective to lupenone, with higher individual yields (2139-3512 mg kg(leaves)(-1)) and concentrations (10.1-12.4 wt.%) in comparison to Soxhlet extractions, which in turn obtained higher yields and concentrations of the remaining triterpenoids.
keywords
PROTIUM-HEPTAPHYLLUM; CARBON-DIOXIDE; BETA-AMYRIN; VOLUMETRIC PROPERTIES; AUSTRALIAN ACACIAS; EUCALYPTUS; BARK; ALPHA; ACIDS; OPTIMIZATION
subject category
Engineering, Chemical
authors
Rodrigues, VH; de Melo, MMR; Portugal, I; Silva, CM
our authors
Carlos Manuel Silva
Associate Professor
Inês Portugal
Assistant Professor
Marcelo Morais Rodrigues de Melo
Post-Doc Fellowship
Vitor Hugo dos Louros Rodrigues
PhD StudentProjects
CICECO - Aveiro Institute of Materials (UIDB/50011/2020)
acknowledgements
This work was developed within the scope of the project CICECO-Aveiro Institute of Materials, UIDB/50011/2020 & UIDP/50011/2020, financed by national funds through the FCT/MEC and, when appropriate, co-financed by FEDER under the PT2020 Partnership Agreement. Authors want to thank Project inpactus-innovative products and technologies from eucalyptus, Project No 21874 funded by Portugal 2020 through European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) in the frame of COMPETE 2020 no 246/AXIS II/2017. Authors want to thank the funding from Project AgroForWealth (CENTRO-01-0145-FEDER-000001), funded by Centro2020, through FEDER and PT2020.