The present invention describes an innovative method to prepare extracts pure in chlorophylls and xanthophylls.
This technology is answering the lack of efficient and sustainable processes to extract and purify xanthophylls and chlorophylls from biomass.
This method comprises only two main steps and just applies two solvents easily recyclable. Besides, the complete purification and high yields of chlorophylls (purity ~ 100%) and carotenoids (purity ~ 100%), is achieved.
Pigments extracted from natural resources are being a matter of interest to industry and academia mainly due to their known health benefits. Nowadays, their use goes far beyond from dyes in industry, being used as biologically active compounds by pharmaceutic and cosmetic industries. Up to now, a high number of health benefits was found. These were identified as good ingredients for formulations in cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals, and food industry. Among many others, chlorophylls and carotenoids are mainly classified by their antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-tumoral, anti-obesity, anti-mutagenic and neuroprotective activities.
Considering the processes described up to now in literature, low purity levels are often achieved when applied the simplest processes, or low yields of pigments are obtained when the most complexes methods are employed.
With this technology, fractions of pure chlorophylls and xanthophylls are obtained applying a very simple, low-cost, and fast methodology.
Portuguese patent application filed (115969; priority date: 13/12/2019).
TRL 3: Applied research; first laboratory tests completed.
MORE EFFICIENT AND SUSTAINABLE than presently used methods:
- HIGHER PURITY LEVEL (~ 100%)
- FASTER AND SIMPLER
- LOWER COSTS
Allows the use of FRESH BIOMASS
Pharmaceutics
Cosmetics
Nutraceutics
Food Industry