Maximizing Bioactive Compound Extraction: How do Factors Influence the Performance of the Microwave-Assisted Technique?

The diverse properties and beneficial applications of bioactive compounds (BACs) have garnered significant interest across multiple industries. These compounds can be extracted from various sources, but vegetal matrices, including plants, fruits or by-products, have taken much of this attention. To improve extraction efficiency and reduce costs, non-conventional techniques like microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) have emerged as greener and more cost-effective alternatives. This technique combines solvent extraction with microwave heating power, where the energy is transmitted as waves, penetrating the matrix, and interacting with polar molecules, generating heat that increases the kinetics of the extraction. By reducing solvent usage, extraction times, waste generation, sample requirements and energy consumption, MAE has become one of the most cost-effective extraction methods, with remarkable extraction rates [1,2]. Despite this, it must be considered that due to the high temperatures and pressures, there is a risk of metabolites being degraded [3]. The extraction performance depends on multiple factors including pressure, temperature, moisture, microwave power, exposure time and characteristics of the matrix and solvent. Moreover, the implementation of this technique under an experimental design described by mathematical models such as the response surface methodology (RSM) along with a circumscribed central composite design (CCCD) allows for predicting the experimentally obtained values with the highest reliability. For this purpose, it is necessary to determine the influence of these factors. This abstract underscores recent advancements in understanding the complexities of MAE for secondary metabolite recovery, laying the groundwork for optimizing extraction methodologies and harnessing these BACs for various applications.