New horizons in the extraction of bioactive compounds using deep eutectic solvents: A review

•Deep eutectic solvents (DES) have drawn significant attention in the last decade.•DES have distinctive physicochemical properties and chemical characteristics.•Recently, DES have been introduced as promising extractants for bioactive compounds.•This is the first comprehensive review aims to cover this research field.•DESs are expected to play a pivotal role in the extraction of bioactive compounds.

With the rapid development of ionic liquid analogues, termed 'deep eutectic solvents' (DESs), and their application in a wide range of chemical and biochemical processes in the past decade, the extraction of bioactive compounds has attracted significant interest. Recently, numerous studies have explored the extraction of bioactive compounds using DESs from diverse groups of natural sources, including animal and plant sources. This review summarizes the-state-of-the-art effort dedicated to the application of DESs in the extraction of bioactive compounds. The aim of this review also was to introduce conventional and recently-developed extraction techniques, with emphasis on the use of DESs as potential extractants for various bioactive compounds, such as phenolic acid, flavonoids, tanshinone, keratin, tocols, terpenoids, carrageenans, xanthones, isoflavones, α-mangostin, genistin, apigenin, and others. In the near future, DESs are expected to be used extensively for the extraction of bioactive compounds from various sources.

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