Production of phenolic-rich extracts from Brazilian plants using supercritical and subcritical fluid extraction: Experimental data and economic evaluation

Flame vine (Pyrostegia venusta) (FV), ice-cream-bean (Inga edulis) (IC), dog's knot (Heteropterys aphrodisiaca) (DK), and common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) (BE) extracts were obtained by supercritical and subcritical fluid extraction (SFE) at 323 K and 35 MPa using pure carbon dioxide (CO2), carbon dioxide with ethanol (CO2 + EtOH) and carbon dioxide with water (CO2 + H2O). The extraction efficiency was evaluated by factoring in the solvent system and plant matrix influence in extraction yield (EY), antioxidant activity (AA), total phenolic content (TPC) and total flavonoid content (TFC). The manufacturing costs of crude extracts (COMEY) and phenolic-rich fractions (COMTPC) were also evaluated. The highest EY was achieved using CO2 + H2O, except for IC extracts. The BE extracts showed the highest TPC (338 mg GAE/g extract, dw), and the highest TFC was obtained for IC extracts using CO2 (260 mg CE/g extract, dw). AA achieved higher values for FV extracts using CO2 + EtOH (0.096 mL/mg). The lowest COMEY and COMTPC were obtained for FV and BE extracts using CO2 + H2O in a 0.5 m3 extraction column.