Upcycling Sugar Mill Byproducts into Policosanols via Supercritical CO2 and Liquefied Extraction Technologies
Journal
ACS Omega
Journal Volume
10
Journal Issue
36
Start Page
41769
End Page
41782
ISSN
2470-1343
Date Issued
2025-09-01
Author(s)
Abstract
Sugarcane leaves and filter mud represent valuable sources of policosanols, a bioactive compound known for its cholesterol-lowering properties. Policosanol extraction efficiency by liquefied dimethyl ether (LDME) was compared with that by supercritical fluid carbon dioxide (SF-CO2) under optimized conditions. The sugarcane filter mud (SG-FM) contains higher policosanol content than sugarcane leaves (SG-L), whereas the leaves exhibit greater antioxidant activities. By supercritical fluid carbon dioxide, both temperature and pressure had a highly significant influence on policosanol contents of filter mud (p < 0.01), while only pressure had the significantly highest impact (p < 0.01) on policosanol contents of the leaves (p < 0.05). Compared with supercritical fluid carbon dioxide, liquefied dimethyl ether gave a high extraction percentage and policosanol content for both SG-FM (3,120.95 mg 100 g–1) and SG-L (2,134.27 mg 100 g–1). Policosanols extracted by liquefied dimethyl ether were 3.9-fold and 2.8-fold higher than that by supercritical fluid extraction for SG-FM and SG-L, respectively. There was no correlation between policosanols and antioxidant properties. Liquefied dimethyl ether and supercritical fluid carbon dioxide demonstrated the potential to convert industrial waste into high-value nutraceuticals with cholesterol-lowering properties. © 2025 The Authors. Published by American Chemical Society
Publisher
American Chemical Society (ACS)
Type
journal article