Water activity change at elevated temperatures and thermal resistance of Salmonella in all purpose wheat flour and peanut butter

Water activity (a_w) is a major factor affecting pathogen heat resistance in low-moisture foods. However, there is a lack of data for a_w at elevated temperatures that occur during actual thermal processing conditions, and its influence on thermal tolerance of pathogens. The objective of this study was to gain an in-depth understanding of the relationship between temperature-induced changes in a_w and thermal resistance of Salmonella in all purpose flour and peanut butter at elevated temperatures (80 ^oC). Equilibrium water sorption isotherms (water content vs. water activity) for all purpose wheat flour and peanut butter over the range of 20 to 80 °C were generated using a vapor sorption analyzer and a newly developed thermal cell. The thermal resistance (D₈₀-values) of Salmonella in all purpose wheat flour and peanut butter with initial a_w of 0.45 (measured at room temperature, ~ 20 °C) was determined via isothermal treatment of small (< 1 g) samples. When increasing sample temperature from 20 to 80 °C in sealed cells, the a_w of all purpose flour increased from 0.45 to 0.80, but the a_w of peanut butter decreased from 0.45 to 0.04. The corresponding estimated D₈₀-values of Salmonella in all purpose flour and peanut butter with 20 ^oC a_w of 0.45 were 6.9 ± 0.7 min and 17.0 ± 0.9 min, respectively. The significantly (P < 0.05) higher D₈₀-value of Salmonella in peanut butter than in all purpose flour may be partially attributed to the reduced a_w in peanut butter in comparison to the increased a_w in all purpose flour at 80 °C. The improved understanding of temperature-induced changes in a_w of low-moisture products of different composition provides a new insight into seemly unpredictable results, when using heat treatments to control Salmonella in such food systems.     

Sensory evaluation of egg products and eggs laid from hens fed diets with different fatty acid composition and supplemented with antioxidants

Is the sensory quality of eggs influenced by adding vegetable lipids, animal and vegetable sources of n − 3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n − 3 PUFA), and/or natural antioxidants to the hens diet? To answer this question three feeding experiments were conducted adding either palm butter, grape seed oil, flax seed oil, n − 3 PUFA such as flax seed and marine algae and the natural antioxidant rosemary to the hens diet. For each experiment a standard diet was used as control. The results suggested that vegetable lipids (palm butter, grape seed, flax seed), n − 3 PUFA (flax seed and marine algae) and rosemary may be used to hens fed diet without affecting the sensory properties of eggs.The sensory quality of eggs was evaluated on hard boiled, scrambled eggs and Madeira cake.In this work, we report the first sensory characterization of eggs and products containing eggs obtained from hens diet based on grape and algae plus vitamin E and rosemary extract.     

Improvement of radio frequency (RF) heating uniformity on low moisture foods with Polyetherimide (PEI) blocks

Radio frequency (RF) heating is rapid, volumetric, and can penetrate most food packaging material. Thus, it is suited for in-packaged food pasteurization applications. However, the non-uniform heating problem needs to be resolved. In this study, a method of adding Polyetherimide (PEI) cylindrical blocks on top of and at the bottom of peanut butter samples in a cylindrical jar (d = 10 cm, h = 5 cm) was evaluated to improve RF heating uniformity. A computer simulation model built with COMSOL Multiphysics® was used for heating pattern prediction, and a new temperature uniformity index was proposed to suitably evaluate pasteurization process heating uniformity. Results showed that a pair of PEI blocks with a diameter of 8 cm among all five diameters (2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 cm) added to the cold spots of a given peanut butter sample could make the sample reach the best heating uniformity. Furthermore, the best height of PEI blocks with a diameter of 8 cm that allows the sample to be heated most uniformly was found to be 1.3 cm after sweeping from 0.1 to 2.3 cm with a step of 0.1 cm. Simulation results also showed that the combination of PEI surrounding and the addition of 8 cm diameter PEI blocks could further control the temperature distribution range in peanut butter within 7.1 °C when the peanut butter was heated from 23 to 70 °C. The newly developed temperature uniformity index provided a more reasonable evaluation on heating uniformity of pasteurization process than the traditional uniformity index.     

Sensory profiles and consumer acceptability of a range of sugar-reduced products on the UK market

Current UK intake of non-milk extrinsic sugars (NMES) is above recommendations. Reducing the sugar content of processed high sugar foods through reformulation is one option for reducing consumption of NMES at a population level. However, reformulation can alter the sensory attributes of food products and influence consumer liking. This study evaluated consumer acceptance of a selection of products that are commercially-available in the UK; these included regular and sugar-reduced baked beans, strawberry jam, milk chocolate, cola and cranberry & raspberry juice. Sweeteners were present in the reformulated chocolate (maltitol), cola (aspartame and acesulfame-K) and juice (sucralose) samples. Healthy, non-smoking consumers (n = 116; 55 men, 61 women, age: 33 ± 9 years; BMI: 25.7 ± 4.6 kg/m²) rated the products for overall liking and on liking of appearance, flavor and texture using a nine-point hedonic scale. There were significant differences between standard and reduced sugar products in consumers' overall liking and on liking of each modality (appearance, flavor and texture; all P < 0.0001). For overall liking, only the regular beans and cola were significantly more liked than their reformulated counterparts (P < 0.0001). Cluster analysis identified three consumer clusters that were representative of different patterns of consumer liking. For the largest cluster (cluster 3: 45%), there was a significant difference in mean liking scores across all products, except jam. Differences in liking were predominantly driven by sweet taste in 2 out of 3 clusters. The current research has demonstrated that a high proportion of consumers prefer conventional products over sugar-reduced products across a wide range of product types (45%) or across selected products (27%), when tasted unbranded, and so there is room for further optimization of commercial reduced sugar products that were evaluated in the current study. Future work should evaluate strategies to facilitate compliance to dietary recommendations on NMES and free sugars, such as the impact of sugar-reduced food exposure on their acceptance.     

Comparative performance of the nine-point hedonic,hybrid and self-adjusting scales in the generation of internal preference maps

This study evaluated the performance of the nine-point hedonic, hybrid and self-adjusting scales in the segmentation of samples and consumers using MDPREF methodology. Overall acceptability of eight Cabernet Sauvignon red wines was evaluated by 112 consumers using the three scales mentioned above. Both the scale’s and the sample’s presentation order were balanced among the consumers. The data were analyzed by ANOVA, REGWQ test, MDPREF and permutation tests. Scales’ performance was judged using the following criteria: number of significant dimensions (p = 5%) in the MDPREF, number of significantly fitted consumers (p = 5%) and segmentation of the products and consumers. The MDPREF generated by the hybrid scale data produced the greatest number of significant dimensions (p = 5%), yielding 79.5% of significantly fitted consumers (p = 5%), while the MDPREFs of the self-adjusting and the nine-point scales fitted 54.5% and 51.8% of the consumers, respectively. Overall, the results indicated superiority of the hybrid scale over the traditional hedonic and self-adjusting scales.     

Shortwave-near infrared spectroscopy for determination of reducing sugar content during grape ripening,winemaking, and aging of white and red wines

The feasibility of near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy for predicting reducing sugar content during grape ripening, winemaking, and aging was assessed. NIR calibration models were developed using a set of 146 samples scanned in a quartz flow cell with a 50 mm path length in the NIR region (800–1050 nm), in a fiber spectrometer system working in transmission mode. Principal component analysis (PCA), partial least squares (PLS), and multiple linear (MLR) regressions were used to interpret spectra and to develop calibrations for reducing sugar content in grape, must, and wine. The PLS model based on the full spectral range (800–1050 nm), yielded a determination coefficient (r²) of 0.98, a standard error of cross validation (SECV) of 13.62 g/l and a root mean square error of cross validation (RMSECV) of 13.58 g/l. The mathematical model was tested with independent validation samples (n = 48); the resulting values for r², the standard error of prediction (SEP) and the root mean square error of prediction (RMSEP) for the same parameter were 0.98, 10.84, and 12.20 g/l, respectively. The loading weights of latent variables from the PLS model were used to identify sensitive wavelengths. To assess their suitability, MLR models were built using these wavelengths. Wavelength significance was analyzed by ANOVA, and four wavelengths (909, 951, 961, and 975 nm) were selected, setting statistical significance at the 99% confidence level. The MLR model yielded acceptable results for r² (0.92), SEP (19.97 g/l) and RMSEP (20.51 g/l). The results suggest that NIR spectroscopy is a promising technique for predicting reducing sugar content during grape ripening, as well as during the fermentation and aging of white and red wines. Individual fingerprint wavelengths strongly associated with reducing sugar content could be used to enhance the efficacy of this simple, efficient and low-cost instrument.     

Effect of heating on the stability of grape and blueberry pomace procyanidins and total anthocyanins

Fruit by-products are rich sources of procyanidins and anthocyanins known for potential health benefits. Freeze dried blueberry pomace and grape pomace were heated in a forced air oven at 40, 60, 105, and 125 °C for 72, 48, 16, and 8 h respectively, to study the stability of procyanidins and total anthocyanins. Heating decreased procyanidin concentrations significantly (p < 0.05) in both blueberry and grape pomace, except when heated at 40 °C for 72 h. Reduction occurred when heated at 60 °C or above with no further reduction when heating temperature increased from 105 to 125 °C. Heating also affected total anthocyanin contents in both grape and blueberry pomace with no significant (p > 0.05) loss when heated at 40 °C. Total anthocyanin loss was highest at 125 °C for both blueberry (52%) and grape pomace (70%). Results suggested that while heating at lower temperatures for up to 3 days may not be detrimental, heating at higher temperatures for more than 8 h results in considerable loss of both the compounds.     

Influence of co-winemaking technique in sensory characteristics of new Spanish red wines

The influence of co-winemaking technique on the sensory profile of wines made from minority red grape varieties cultivated in La Mancha region (Spain) was researched by sensory characterization. Sensory analysis was carried out by a panel of 15 experienced wine-testers, all with a previous training. The sensory profiles of monovarietal red wines—Cencibel, Bobal and Moravia Agria—were studied and also the effects of co-winemaking technique on sensory characteristics were evaluated. Co-winemaking red wines were obtained by blending (a) Cencibel (50%) + Bobal (50%); (b) Cencibel (50%) + Moravía Agria (50%) and (c) the three grape varieties Cencibel (33%) + Bobal (33%) + Moravía Agria (33%). The co-winemaking technique intensified the principal sensory properties of monovarietal wines and the wines proved to be more complex than the monovarietal wines.     

Formulation with ascorbic acid and sucrose modulates catechin bioavailability from green tea

In order to investigate the impact of common food ingredients on catechin absorption, green tea (GT) extract (50 mg) was formulated plain, with sucrose (GT + S), with ascorbic acid (GT + AA) and with sucrose and ascorbic acid (GT + S + AA). Bioavailability and bioaccessibility were assessed in Sprague Dawley rats and an in vitro digestion/Caco-2 cell model respectively. Absorption of epigallocatechin (EGC) and epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) was significantly (P < 0.05) enhanced in GT + S + AA formulations (AUC_0–6 h = 3237.0 and 181.8 pmol h/L plasma respectively) relative to GT control (AUC_0–6 h = 1304.1 and 61.0 pmol h/L plasma respectively). In vitro digestive recovery was higher for EGC and epicatechin (EC) (～51–53%) relative to EGCG and epicatechin gallate (ECG) (<20%) and was modestly enhanced in GT + S and GT + S + AA formulations. Accumulation of EGC, EGCG and ECG by Caco-2 cells was significantly (P < 0.05) higher from GT + S + AA compared to other formulations while retention of catechins was enhanced in presence of ascorbic acid. These data suggest that formulation with sucrose and ascorbic acid may improve catechin bioavailability by enhancing bioaccessibility and intestinal uptake from tea.     

Processing of clear and turbid grape juice by a continuous flow UV system

The inactivation of inoculated (S. cerevisiae) and spoilage microorganisms, i.e. yeasts and lactic acid bacteria (LAB), in clear and turbid grape juice was investigated using a pilot scale UV system. The biodosimetry method was used for UV dose prediction in a continuous flow UV reactor. Weibull model was applied for fitting the inactivation data. The flow rates (774, 820 ml/min) in this system were very close to the ones used in fruit juice processing. S. cerevisiae in clear juice was reduced by 3.39 ± 0.04 at 65.50 mJ/cm² of UV dose. 1.54 ± 0.04 and 1.64 ± 0.03 log CFU/ml reductions were obtained for spoilage yeasts and LAB in turbid juice at UV dose of 78.56 and 67.97 mJ/cm², respectively. The soluble solids (°Brix) and pH of grape juice samples were not affected by UV-C treatment (p > 0.05). Although the color parameters slightly were changed after irradiation, the color of PCGJ and FSTGJ did not show visual difference compared to the untreated samples.Industrial relevanceUV light has a potential to reduce the levels of microbial contamination in liquid foods. Although grape juice has many beneficial health effects, it has a fairly short shelf life. Therefore, pasteurization is required. But the thermal pasteurization has some undesired effects on the juice quality. Consumer demands for high quality fruit juice with fresh-like characteristics have markedly expanded in recent years. In the current study, the microbial inactivation efficiency of a pilot scale UV system for non-thermal treatment of clear and turbid grape juice was evaluated under conservative conditions. Most of the physicochemical properties of grape juice samples were not significantly affected from UV-C treatment (p > 0.05). This would be a major advantage in the processing of nutritious juice products.     

Production of conjugated linoleic acid enriched milk and dairy products from cows receiving grass silage supplemented with a cereal-based concentrate containing rapeseed oil

Opportunities for the production of milk and dairy products enriched with cis-9, trans-11 conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) were investigated. Eighteen mid-lactation cows were used in a continuous-design for 7 weeks. During the first week, cows received grass silage ad libitum supplemented with 10 kg per day of a cereal-based concentrate (control) that was replaced with a concentrate containing 50 g kg⁻¹ of rapeseed oil (RO). Changes in milk fatty acid composition were monitored on a weekly basis and milk produced was used to manufacture Edam cheese and butter. Inclusion of RO in the concentrate supplement increased the mean levels of trans-octadecanoic, monounsaturated, CLA and polyunsaturated fatty acid in the milk fat from 1.6, 25.7, 0.46 and 2.8 to 4.3, 35.3, 1.02 and 3.9 g 100 g⁻¹ total fatty acids, respectively. In contrast, the mean level of saturated fatty acids decreased from 71.4 to 60.7 g  100 g⁻¹ total fatty acids. Changes in milk fatty acid composition due to RO occurred within 7 days, with responses reaching a plateau after 21 days. Furthermore, the CLA concentrations in the milk fat from individual cows ranged between 0.37 and 0.65 and 0.43 and 2.06 g 100 g⁻¹ total fatty acids for the control and RO diet, respectively. CLA enriched milk was used successfully to manufacture of Edam cheese and butter with softer textures but with acceptable organoleptic and storage properties. Processing milk into butter or cheese had no effect on the CLA concentrations indicating that enrichment of dairy products is dependent on the content in raw milk fat.     

Influence of roasting conditions on fatty acid composition and oxidative changes of cocoa butter extracted from cocoa bean of Forastero variety cultivated in Togo

Cocoa butter is responsible for physico-chemical, rheological and sensory properties of chocolates. Forastero cocoa beans are rich in cocoa butter. Roasting of cocoa beans is an essential step of their processing, giving rise to many desirable transformations. On the other hand, it causes changes in certain valuable ingredients including also cocoa butter. This article studies the influence of roasting conditions, i.e. temperature, humidity and flow velocity of roasting air, on the fatty acid composition, peroxide value and content of conjugated dienes and trienes in cocoa butter extracted from cocoa beans. Generally, in most cases roasting did not increase the peroxide value. In the constant conditions due to obtained results of PV, CD and CT values it is recommended to roast cocoa beans at the temperature of 150 °C, 1 m/s air velocity and 5% relative humidity. In the variable conditions lower values of PV, CD and CT were achieved when cocoa beans were roasted in variants with changing temperature from 150 °C to 135 °C or with changing air velocity from 1 to 0.5 m/s. Generally, the roasting process substantially did not change the content of each fatty acid, regardless of the applied conditions.     

Optimization of deacidification of low-calorie cocoa butter by molecular distillation

Molecular distillation for deacidification of crude low-calorie cocoa butter was optimized. Processing parameters of molecular distillation including evaporator temperature, feed flow rate and pressure were investigated on the quality indicators (acid value and color) of refined low-calorie cocoa butter by single factor experiments. Optimum operating parameters were obtained by response surface methodology. Evaporator temperature, feed flow rate and their interaction term showed significant effects on the responses (deacidification rate and Lovibond color), but pressure was not significant. The optimum parameters for production of low-calorie cocoa butter with low acidity and light color were as follows: evaporator temperature 185.0 °C, feed flow rate 2.3 mL/min and pressure of 1.0 Pa. The predicted results of deacidification rate and yellow and red values (95.25%, 5.5 and 0.7) were close to the experimental values (95.48 ± 0.48%, 5.5 ± 0.7 and 0.6 ± 0.1).     

Temperature-dependent kinetics of grape seed phenolic compounds extraction: Experiment and model

The kinetics of a batch solid–liquid extraction of total phenolic compounds (PC) from milled grape seed (Vitis vinifera L. cv. “Frankovka”) using 50% ethanol at different extraction temperatures (25–80 °C) was studied. The maximum yield of PC was 0.13 kg_GAE/kg_db after 200 min of extraction in agitated vessel at 80 °C. A new model based on the assumptions of a first order kinetics mechanism for the solid–liquid extraction and a linear equilibrium at the solid–liquid interface was developed. The model involves the concept of broken and intact cells in order to describe two successive extraction periods: a very fast surface washing process followed by slow diffusion of phenolic compounds from grape seeds to the solvent.The proposed model is suited to fit experimental data and to simulate the extraction of phenolic compounds, which was confirmed by the correlation coefficient (r ? 0.965), the root mean square error (RMSE ? 0.003 kg_GAE/kg_db) and the mean relative deviation modulus (E ? 2.149%). The temperature influenced both equilibrium partition coefficients of phenolic compounds and transport properties, which is manifested by a relatively high value of activation energy (23–24) kJ/mol and by values of effective diffusivity in seed particles.     

Acrylamide content and color development in fried potato strips

Acrylamide formation and changes in color of fried potato strips was investigated in relation to frying temperature and three treatments before frying. Potato strips (0.8 × 0.8 × 5 cm) of Bintje variety were fried at 150, 170 and 190 °C until reaching moisture contents of ∼40 g water/100 g (total basis). Prior to frying, potato strips were treated in one of the following ways: (i) immersed in distilled water for 0 min (control), 60 min and 120 min; (ii) blanched in hot water at six different time–temperature combinations (50 °C for 40 and 80 min; 70 °C for 10 and 45 min; 90 °C for 3 and 10 min); (iii) immersed in a citric acid solution of 10 g/L for an hour; (iv) immersed in a sodium pyrophosphate solution of 10 g/L for an hour. Acrylamide content and color was determined in the potato strips after frying. Immersed strips in water for 120 min showed a reduction of acrylamide formation of 33%, 21% and 27% at 150, 170 and 190 °C, respectively, when they were compared against the control. Potato strips blanched at 50 °C for 80 min had the lowest acrylamide content when compared against strips blanched at different conditions and fried at the same temperature (135, 327 and 564 μm acrylamide/kg for 150, 170 and 190 °C, respectively). Potato strip immersion in citric acid solution of 10 g/L reduced much more the acrylamide formation after frying than the strip immersion in sodium pyrophosphate solution of 10 g/L (53% vs. 17%, respectively, average values for the three temperatures tested). Acrylamide formation decreased dramatically as the frying temperature decreased from 190 to 150 °C for all the pre-treatments tested. Color represented by the parameters L* and a* showed high correlations (r² of 0.79 and 0.83, respectively) with French fry acrylamide content.     

Factors affecting the rheological properties of a structured cellular solid used as a fat mimetic

The effects of water content, monoglyceride chain length and concentration, oil type, and the addition of oil-phase and water-phase additives on the elastic modulus and yield stress of a structured oil in water were evaluated. The goal was to increase the elastic modulus of the original emulsion from 8.42 × 10³ ± 11.3 Pa to 1.55 × 10⁶ ± 2.1 × 10⁵ Pa, and the yield stress from 112 ± 2.31 Pa to 835 ± 227 Pa. The addition of wax at greater than 10% (w/w), the use of palm oil or the gelation of the liquid oil phase with 5–7.5% rice bran wax, the use of C-18 saturated monoglyceride at 6%(w/w), and 4% (w/w) for C-22 saturated monoglyceride molecules were effective modifications capable of improving the mechanical behavior of the emulsion so that it can be used as a zero trans and reduced saturated fat laminating shortening substitute for puff pastry products.     

Optimising acceptability of new prebiotic low-fat milk beverages

The purpose of this work was to optimise the acceptability of two low-fat milk beverages with different types of inulin (CLR and TEX!) using Response Surface Methodology. Sixteen formulations of beverage with each inulin type were prepared, varying inulin concentration (3–8%), and sucrose concentration (0–8%). A group of 50 consumers evaluated the acceptability of the samples and tested the appropriateness of some sensory attributes intensity (colour, vanilla flavour, sweetness and thickness) using just about right scales. Response surface plots showed that formulations containing 5–8% CLR and 4–6.5% sucrose and formulations containing 4–6.5% for both TEX! inulin and sucrose were located in the optimum region. The sweetness and the thickness were the attributes that most affected the acceptability of the samples. The two low-fat samples (one for each inulin type) selected as the optimum showed no differences in acceptability (α = 0.05) between them neither when compared with a full fat control sample.     

Aging of red wines made from hybrid grape cv. BRS Violeta: Effects of accelerated aging conditions on phenolic composition,color and antioxidant activity

Aging is an enological technique usually employed with Vitis vinifera wines for improving and stabilizing wine sensory attributes like red wine color. However, red wines made from non-vinifera grape cultivars are considered not suitable for classic wine aging because they are prone to color loss during processing and storage, mainly due to the major occurrence of non-acylated anthocyanidin 3,5-diglucosides. The recently developed hybrid grape cv. BRS Violeta gives rise to deep red-purplish colored wines characterized by an important contribution of p-coumaroylated anthocyanidin 3,5-diglucosides. In this work, Violeta red wines were subjected to control (storage at 15 °C) and accelerated (storage at 25, 35 and 50 °C) aging for 120 days. Total phenolic content was only significantly decreased by 23% in accelerated aged wines at 50 °C, whereas antioxidant capacity was mainly reduced in the first 20 days of aging (around 35% for all the wines, except for 45% for wine aged at 50 °C) and then remained almost stable. In contrast, total anthocyanin content decreased following expected first-order kinetics and the variation of rate constants with regard to temperature fitted well with an Arrhenius-type equation. The calculated activation energy for disappearance of anthocyanins (47 kJ/mol) was close to the lower limit of the range of values reported for thermal degradation of anthocyanidin 3-glucosides. In addition, half-life values for p-coumaroylated anthocyanidin 3,5-glucosides of Violeta wine aged at 50 °C almost doubled those of their corresponding non-acylated derivatives. The latter result is suggested to be the main reason behind the relatively high resistance of Violeta wine towards the disappearance of anthocyanin under accelerated aging conditions. Finally, chromatic characteristics of Violeta wines did not significantly change their C* values during aging but L* and h* values increased as expected, the latter mainly due to higher increases of the yellow color component (b*) over lower decreases of the red color component (a*). These color changes were more drastic in the accelerated aged wines and the wine aged at 25 °C still maintained interesting color characteristics close to those of the control aged wine that did not change very much.     

Optimization of supercritical fluid extraction of bioactive compounds from grape (Vitis labrusca B.) peel by using response surface methodology

Supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) was applied for the extraction of valuable compounds from grape (Vitis labrusca B.) peel. Extraction was carried out according to an orthogonal array design (OAD) and independent variables selected were temperature, pressure and modifier concentration. SFE process was optimized by using response surface methodology (RSM) for the extract yield, total phenols, antioxidants and total anthocyanins from grape peel. Effects of extraction temperature and pressure were found to be significant on all responses. Optimal SFE conditions were identified as 45–46 °C temperature, 160–165 kg cm^? 2 pressure and 6–7% ethanol as modifier for maximum extract yield (12.31%), total phenols (2.156 mg GAE/100 mL), antioxidants (1.628 mg/mL) and total anthocyanins (1.176 mg/mL). Experimental values for response variables at these optimal conditions match well with the predicted values. Grape peel extracts obtained by SFE showed more than 93% DPPH radical scavenging activities.Industrial relevanceThis study describes the response surface optimization of supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) process for the enhanced recovery of total phenols, antioxidant and anthocyanins from grape peel. SFE uses CO₂ as supercritical fluid which is environment friendly solvent; allows extraction at lower temperature and the extracts obtained possess higher quality and safety. Industrially, it may be used as a promising technique for the extraction of bioactive compounds from plant materials.