Extraction and Separation of Bioactive Molecules from Marine Flora and Fauna and By-Products of Aquatic Industries

Dear Colleagues,

Traditional extraction technologies have several drawbacks mainly related to the consumption of hazardous organic solvents and the high temperatures maintained for long extraction periods, which cause the degradation of thermolabile compounds as well as the low extraction efficiency of desired compounds. In this context, new green technologies such as supercritical fluid extraction (SFE), with or without modifiers, microwaves, ultrasounds and others are fast growing in laboratories and industry as suitable technologies for the recovery of a broad range of bioactive compounds from different types of biomass, especially in food, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics. With stricter international regulations, the use of these green technologies is expected to proliferate rapidly in many industrial sectors.

In recent years, research on added-value molecules, including fatty acids, sterols, pigments, carotenoids, flavonoids and phenolic compounds, has been gaining growing attention due to the increasing interest of consumers in food that can provide health benefits.

Marine flora and fauna constitute a vast source of potentially bioactive molecules, including microalgae, seaweeds, fisheries and by-products of aquatic industries, among others. In particular, the valorisation of by-products to produce value-added compounds is considered pivotal for sustainable growth based on a circular economy.

For this Special issue, we invite front-line researchers and authors to submit original research and review articles focused on the “Extraction and Separation of Bioactive Molecules from Marine Flora and Fauna and By-products of Aquatic Industries Using Green  Technologies”, addressing, among others, principles, factors, and parameters affecting the extraction process, most recent applications for the extraction of valuable compounds from several marine sources, new technical and industrial challenges, economic viability and sustainability on different markets, perspectives about the potential applications of the marine bioactive extracts in the food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industry, experiments and modeling, new potential raw materials and residues, fractionation and purification processes.

Dr. José Paulo M. Sardinha
Dr. José P. Coelho
Dr. David Villanueva-Bermejo
Guest Editors

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