An Integrated Biorefinery Process to Revalorize Marine Biomass from the Microalga Nannochloropsis gaditana Using Pressurized Green Solvents

Biorefinery is gaining attention as a promising approach to valorize natural resources and promote a circular bioeconomy. This study aimed to recover high-value molecules, such as xanthophylls and polar lipids with nutraceutical applications, through enzymatic pretreatment and sequential pressurized...

ver descrição completa

Detalhes bibliográficos
Autores: Blanco-Llamero, Cristina, García-García, Paz, Señoráns, Francisco Javier
Formato: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2025
País:España
Recursos:Universidad Francisco de Vitoria
Repositorio:DDFV. Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad Francisco de Vitoria
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:ddfv.ufv.es:10641/7160
Acesso em linha:https://hdl.handle.net/10641/7160
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palavra-chave:Nannochloropsis gaditana
biorefinery
byproducts
carotenoids
microalgae
pressurized liquid extraction (PLE)
Pharmaceutical Science
Drug Discovery
Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics (miscellaneous)
SDG 14 - Life Below Water
Journal Article
Yes
yes
Descrição
Resumo:Biorefinery is gaining attention as a promising approach to valorize natural resources and promote a circular bioeconomy. This study aimed to recover high-value molecules, such as xanthophylls and polar lipids with nutraceutical applications, through enzymatic pretreatment and sequential pressurized liquid extraction (PLEseq), by reusing the residual biomass of Nannochloropsis gaditana after each processing step. Remarkably, pure glycolipids (102.95 ± 1.10 mg g−1 dry weight) were obtained immediately after enzymatic pretreatment, facilitating their easy recovery. Furthermore, two alternative sequential extraction processes were successfully developed, using ethanol and water as green solvents at varying temperatures and in different orders. The most effective PLEseq conditions yielded up to 48 mg mL−1 of carbohydrates using water at 50 °C, and up to 44 mg mL−1 of proteins via subcritical water extraction at 100 °C, prior to conventional lipid extraction with ethanol to produce various concentrated extracts. In the inverted PLEseq process—starting with ethanol extraction followed by successive water washes—isolated and purified fractions of lutein and astaxanthin were obtained, contributing to the complete depletion of the residual biomass. Overall, the development of an integrated and sequential biorefinery protocol that enables the extraction of multiple high-value compounds holds significant potential for application in the food industry.