Phytochemicals: An Insight to Modern Extraction Technologies and Their Applications

Abstract The design of sustainable extraction methods of natural ingredients is currently a hot research topic in the food industry. Bioactives found in foods can mainly be categorized into proteins, peptides, enzymes, phenolics, essential oils, pigments, probiotics, and prebiotics. Extraction of these bioactives can proceed according to either physical or chemical methods. Both these extraction techniques require an initial destruction of the cell wall with minimum losses of unstable intracellular compounds. Chemical extraction methods involve the use of solvents, detergents, and chemicals capable of disintegrating the cells. Conventional extraction methods are now being replaced by modern systems, such as ultrasound- and microwave-assisted extraction, subcritical water extraction, aqueous two phase partitioning, supercritical fluid extraction, hydrotropic extraction, and enzyme-assisted extraction. Modern methods intensify the extraction process and are environmentally benign methods. Nonetheless, these techniques cannot be used immoderately and their selection depends on the type of ingredients to be extracted, their source, the scale processing, the correlation between extraction costs and economic value of the ingredients to be extracted. This chapter provides a holistic insight to the modern approaches for physicochemical extraction alongside conventional techniques, giving a balanced outline of the applications and latest developments of each technique.