Patent Application
20220096960
The present disclosure generally relates to a method of for extracting and recovering selective bioactive components from plant biomass with carbon dioxide comprising one or more solutes in supercritical and/or subcritical state. More specifically, this disclosure pertains to methods and systems for the selective extraction and recovery of desirable alkaloids from Mitragyna speciosa plant parts.
Phytochemicals are chemical compounds that occur naturally in plants. Some phytochemicals are bioactive in humans and are used in nutraceutical products that are generally sold in medicinal forms. The current common approach to the extraction of plant components is through use of either organic solvents or unpressurized hot water to solubilize and remove phytochemicals from plant biomass. The organic solvent systems commonly use one or more of ethanol, methanol, ethyl acetate and acetone in relatively large and therefore costly amounts. It is well-known that hot-water systems tend to be less efficient than organic solvent-based systems and are able to only extract a portion of the potentially available phytochemicals from the plant biomass.
Attempts to address the limitations in the above extraction techniques have been made through the use of heated and pressurized aqueous solvent solutions referred to as pressurized low polarity water (PLPW) apparatus and systems. These systems often use relatively large amounts of aqueous solution producing relatively low concentration of desired alkaloid fractions. Additionally, typical temperatures utilized in PLPW apparatus and systems often exceed the temperature at which the desired bioactive phytochemicals degrade.
Many extraction systems produce a mixture comprising desired phytochemicals and the solvent used for extraction. It is well known to employ reduced pressure evaporation to recover solvent for future extraction. Some systems employ secondary processing, such as freeze-drying or lyophilization to completely remove liquid solvent providing the advantages of weight reduction and stability of bioactive components in dry form.
Conversely to extraction and recovery systems, various coffee decaffeination methods are well-known in the art wherein a method or system is employed for the selective removal and discarding of undesirable phytochemicals such as caffeine. One such technique is the use of a supercritical fluid, preferably supercritical carbon dioxide, to extract the caffeine from green coffee beans. Such a technique is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,260,639 to Mosel wherein green coffee is contacted with water-moist supercritical carbon dioxide in order to extract the caffeine and recover a substantially decaffeinated coffee.
The embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to a methods and systems for extracting and recovering bioactive components from Mitragyna speciosa plant biomass with carbon dioxide in supercritical and/or subcritical state comprising combinations of one or more organic solutes and/or one or more inorganic solutes.
Mitragyna speciosa plant biomass contain various bioactive phytochemicals and/or components. These phytochemicals and components are typically found in relatively low concentrations relative to the total plant biomass. Additionally, moderate therapeutic amounts of said phytochemicals and/or components therefore require significant plant biomass quantities. It is therefore advantageous to be able to selectively separate bioactive phytochemicals and/or components from the Mitragyna speciosa plant biomass.
The method and system generally comprises the steps of:
(i) contacting said Mitragyna speciosa plant biomass with carbon dioxide comprising one or more solutes in supercritical and/or subcritical state, (ii) further separating solution comprising said carbon dioxide, said solute(s) and said bioactive components from said plant biomass, (iii) further transitioning solution consisting essentially said carbon dioxide, said solute(s)s, and said bioactive components to solid phase, (iv) further removal of said carbon dioxide, and/or said solute(s) via sublimation and recovering a selective fraction of bioactive components consisting essentially of Mitragynine, Paynantheine, Speciogynine, and/or 7-Hydroxymitragynine.
The method and system of the present disclosure requires less solvent and produce a more selectively desirable extract than prior art processes and systems. Additionally, compared to prior art, the method and system of the present disclosure operate at temperatures substantially below the degradation temperature of the desirable phytochemicals to be extracted. Further, the method and system of the present disclosure produces a dray and stable extract product consistent with lyophilization.
Various other objects, features, and attendant advantages of the present invention will be more fully appreciated from the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings in which like reference characters designate like or corresponding parts throughout the several views, and wherein:
A detailed description of the hereinafter described embodiments of the disclosed apparatus are presented herein by way of exemplification and not limitation with reference to the Figures. Although certain embodiments are shown and described in detail, it should be understood that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the appended claims. The scope of the present invention will in no way be limited to the number of constituting components, the materials thereof, the shapes thereof, the relative arrangement thereof, etc., and are disclosed simply as an example of embodiments of the present invention.
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