Green Compressed Fluid Technologies To Extract Antioxidants and Lipids from <i>Galdieria phlegrea</i> in a Biorefinery Approach
Paola Imbimbo, Mónica Bueno, Luigi D’Elia, Antonino Pollio, Elena Ibáñez, Giuseppe Olivieri, Daria Maria Monti
Abstract
. Phycocyanin extraction was performed by high pressure homogenization and purified by ultrafiltration, whereas carotenoids were obtained by a pressurized liquid extraction and lipids by supercritical fluid extraction. The second step of this innovative, green, and cost-effective procedure is able to improve the recovery of zeaxanthin and β-carotene up to 40%, without affecting the quality of compounds and avoiding the use of organic solvents and the drying processes. The isolated carotenoids were active as antioxidants, as clearly shown by their protective activity on a cell-based model. The lipid yield was increased by 12% with respect to conventional methods.