Green Solvents for the Sustainable Extraction of Bioactive Compounds from Natural Products and Agri-Food Wastes
A special issue of Purification (ISSN 3042-6197).
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 22 December 2026 | Viewed by 167
Editors
Interests: natural products; phytochemical analysis; food and health; ethnobotany; enzyme inhibitors; extraction
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: food and natural product analysis; sample preparation; instrumental methods of analysis; bioactivity assessment; chemometric data processing
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: bioactive compound analysis; extraction techniques; green solvents; compositional analysis; multivariate data analysis
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The transition toward a circular bioeconomy has catalyzed the development of green extraction technologies designed to mitigate the environmental footprint of traditional approaches for the recovery of bioactive compounds from diverse natural sources. Conventional organic solvents are increasingly being phased out due to their inherent toxicity, flammability, and high carbon emissions. In their stead, green solvents, specifically bio-based solvents, supercritical fluids, pressurized liquids and natural deep eutectic solvents (NADESs), have emerged as superior alternatives for the recovery of high-value bioactive compounds from plant matrices and agri-food side-streams. These solvents are characterized by their low volatility, biodegradability, and selective solubility, allowing for the isolation of polyphenols, carotenoids, and essential oils with high purity. Furthermore, the integration of green solvents with intensified extraction techniques, such as ultrasound-assisted (UAE) or microwave-assisted extraction (MAE), significantly reduces energy consumption and solvent volume while improving mass transfer kinetics. By transforming agri-food wastes and natural products into functional ingredients via those sustainable routes, the food and pharmaceutical industry can achieve a closed-loop system that aligns with the principles of Green Chemistry. Ultimately, the adoption of green solvents represents a critical intersection of chemical engineering and environmental stewardship, ensuring that the quest for health-promoting bioactives does not come at the expense of ecological integrity.
This Special Issue, entitled “Green Solvents for the Sustainable Extraction of Bioactive Compounds from Natural Products and Agri-Food Wastes,” will highlight recent advances both in green extraction methodologies and solvent systems that reduce energy consumption, minimize hazardous waste and improve the selectivity and yield of bioactive compounds from diverse natural sources. Submissions of original research and review articles concerning the systematic design of solvents, the elucidation of extraction mechanisms, and the development of optimization strategies across diverse matrices, including food, pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and agro-industrial sectors, are invited. Priority will be given to manuscripts that demonstrate substantial advancements in extraction yield and selectivity, as well as those that emphasize sustainable methodologies and robust potential for industrial integration.
Dr. Vlasios Goulas
Dr. Atalanti Christou
Dr. Georgia D. Ioannou
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Purification is an international peer-reviewed open access quarterly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1000 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- green solvents
- bioactive compounds
- circular bioeconomy
- natural products
- extraction
- agri-food waste
- sustainable chemistry
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