Molecular Guide for Selecting Green Deep Eutectic Solvents with High Monosaccharide Solubility for Food Applications.

Monosaccharides play a vital role in the human diet due to their interesting biological activity and functional properties. Conventionally, sugars are extracted using volatile organic solvents (VOCs). Deep eutectic solvents (DESs) have recently emerged as a new green alternative to VOCs. Nonetheless, the selection criterion of an appropriate DES for a specific application is a very difficult task due to the designer nature of these solvents and the theoretically infinite number of combinations of their constituents and compositions. This paper presents a framework for screening a large number of DES constituents for monosaccharide extraction application using COSMO-RS. The framework employs the activity coefficients at infinite dilution (γi∞) as a measure of glucose and fructose solubility. Moreover, the toxicity analysis of the constituents is considered to ensure that selected constituents are safe to work with. Finally, the obtained viscosity predictions were used to select DESs that are not transport-limited. To provide more insights into which functional groups are responsible for more effective monosaccharide extraction, a structure-solubility analysis was carried out. Based on an analysis of 212 DES constituents, the top-performing hydrogen bond acceptors were found to be carnitine, betaine, and choline chloride, while the top-performing hydrogen bond donors were oxalic acid, ethanolamine, and citric acid. A research initiative was presented in this paper to develop robust computational frameworks for selecting optimal DESs for a given application to develop an effective DES design strategy that can aid in the development of novel processes using DESs.

Natural deep eutectic solvents for Ultrasonic-Assisted extraction of nutritious date Sugar: Molecular Screening, Experimental, and prediction.

The aim of this study is to develop an environmentally friendly and effective method for the extraction of nutritious date sugar using natural deep eutectic solvents (NADES) and ultrasound-assisted extraction (USAE). The careful design of a suitable NADES-USAE system was systematically supported by COSMO-RS screening, response surface method (RSM) and artificial neural network (ANN). Initially, 26 natural hydrogen bond donors (HBDs) were carefully screened for sugar affinity using COSMO-RS. The best performing HBDs were then used for the synthesis of 5 NADES using choline chloride (ChCl) as HBA. Among the synthesized NADES, the mixture of ChCl, citric acid (CA) and water (1:1:1 with 20 wt% water) resulted in the highest sugar yield of 78.30 ± 3.91 g/100 g, which is superior to conventional solvents such as water (29.92 ± 1.50 g/100 g). Further enhancements using RSM and ANN led to an even higher sugar recovery of 87.81 ± 2.61 g/100 g, at conditions of 30 °C, 45 min, and a solvent to DFP ratio of 40 mL/g. The method NADES-USAE was then compared with conventional hot water extraction (CHWE) (61.36 ± 3.06) and showed 43.1% higher sugar yield. The developed process not only improves the recovery of the nutritious date sugar but also preserves the heat-sensitive bioactive compounds in dates, making it an attractive alternative to CHWE for industrial utilization. Overall, this study shows a promising approach for the extraction of nutritive sugars from dates using environmentally friendly solvents and advanced technology. It also highlights the potential of this approach for valorizing underutilized fruits and preserving their bioactive compounds.

Spray dried date fruit extract with a maltodextrin/gum arabic binary blend carrier agent system: Process optimization and product quality.

Bioactive compounds can be protected from degradation through encapsulation, increasing their bioavailability and shelf life. Spray drying is an advanced encapsulation technique mainly used for the processing of food-based bioactives. In this study, Box-Behnken design (BBD)-based response surface methodology (RSM) was used to study the effects of combined polysaccharide carrier agents and other spray drying parameters on encapsulating date fruit sugars obtained from a supercritical assisted aqueous extraction. The spray drying parameters were set at various levels: Air inlet temperature (150-170 °C), feed flow rate (3-5 mL/min), and carrier agent concentration (30-50 %). Under the optimized conditions (inlet temperature of 170 °C, the feed flow rate of 3 mL/min, and carrier agent concentration of 44 %), a maximum sugar powder yield of 38.62 % with 3.5 % moisture, 18.2 % hygroscopicity and 91.3 % solubility was obtained. The tapped density and particle density of the dried date sugar were estimated as 0.575 g cm-3 and 1.81 g cm-3, respectively, showing its potential for easy storage. In addition, scanning electron microscope (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis revealed better microstructural stability of the fruit sugar product, which is essential for commercial applications. Thus, the hybrid carrier agent system (maltodextrin and gum arabic) can be considered a potential carrier agent for producing stable date sugar powder with longer shelf-life and desirable characteristics in the food industry.

Ultrasound-assisted extraction of highly nutritious date sugar from date palm (Phoenix dactylifera) fruit powder: Parametric optimization and kinetic modeling.

Alternative sweeteners to white sugar with a lower calorie content and glycemic index obtained through date palm fruits is of great interest to the food industry. In this study, ultrasound-assisted extraction of nutritive sugar from date fruit powder was investigated through Box-Behnken design. A maximum total sugar content (TSC) of 812 mg glucose eq./g of DFP was obtained with a sugar extraction yield (SEY) of 81.40 ± 0.27 % under the following optimal extraction conditions: extraction temperature of 60 °C, extraction time of 30 min, and L/S ratio of 7.6 mL/g. Various modern techniques were used to characterize the obtained extracts and associated residues. The results showed that the extract contained fructose, glucose, and sucrose and had good thermal stability. Furthermore, SEM and TSC analysis revealed that ultrasonic treatment of the biomass improved mass transfer diffusion due to acoustic or ultrasonic cavitation, resulting in a higher sugar yield.

Nano-activated carbon derived from date palm coir waste for efficient sequestration of noxious 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid herbicide.

Alarming water contamination rates by toxic herbicides have drawn attention to treat these pollutants using efficient, easy, and economic techniques. In this work, date-palm coir (DPC) waste-based nano-activated carbon (DPC-AC) was successfully prepared and examined for adsorptive removal of toxic 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-DPA) herbicide from synthetic wastewater. The DPC-AC was synthesized via a single-step carbonization-KOH activation approach. The nanosorbent displayed a flaky morphology with graphitic structure and oxygen-rich surface functionalities. The nanocarbon with a mean particle size of 163 nm possessed a high specific surface area of 947 m2/g with an average pore size of 2.28 nm. High 2,4-DPA removal efficiency of 98.6% was obtained for the optimal adsorption conditions of pH 2, dosage 0.15 g, rotational speed 100 rpm, time 90 min, and initial 2,4-DPA concentration of 100 mg/L. Langmuir isotherm best described the equilibrium behavior with a theoretical maximum of 50.25 mg/g adsorption capacity for the system. Pseudo-second order model was more appropriate in quantifying the kinetics for all initial feed concentrations. Thermodynamically, the adsorption process was spontaneous, endothermic, and involved low activation energy. A plausible mechanism for the adsorption-desorption of 2,4-DPA onto DPC-AC is also discussed. Cost analysis and regenerability studies proved the economic value ($3/kg) and reusable nature of DPC-AC without any significant loss in its performance. Overall, this study highlights the advantages of DPC waste valorization into efficient nanoadsorbent and the sequestration of noxious 2,4-DPA herbicide from its aqueous streams using this nanosorbent.