A Green Deep Eutectic Solvent-Based Ultrasound-Assisted Method to Extract Astaxanthin from Shrimp Byproducts

The extraction of valuable compounds from waste products using green and inexpensive solvents is a significant strategy for sample preparation. Accordingly, in the present study, the use of deep eutectic solvents, an emerging green approach, was used to extract astaxanthin, a well-known and widely-used antioxidant, from shrimp byproducts. After evaluating different combinations of extraction conditions and deep eutectic solvents, an ultrasonication method was established and optimized by a systematic investigation of the influencing factors. A comparison of the amount of astaxanthin (102 μg g− 1 ) extracted using a traditional organic solvent, ethanol, showed that more astaxanthin (146 μg g− 1 ) was obtained using the reported eco-friendly method. The excellent properties of deep eutectic solvents highlight their advantages as promising inexpensive green solvents for the extraction and determination of a range of bioactive compounds from natural products.