Process Optimization of Microwave-Assisted Extraction of Chlorophyll, Carotenoid and Phenolic Compounds from Chlorella vulgaris and Comparison with Conventional and Supercritical Fluid Extraction

The production of bioactive products from microalgae biomass with efficient and environmentally friendly technologies is a field of great research interest. The present work focuses on the recovery of high-added value bioactive components from Chlorella vulgaris through microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) with aq. ethanol 90% v/v. The effect of extraction temperature (40-60 degrees C), duration (5-25 min), solvent-to-biomass ratio (20-90 mL(solv)/g(biom)), and microwave power (300-800 watts) was investigated regarding the extraction yield, extract's chlorophyll, carotenoid and phenolic content, and antioxidant activity. MAE optimization at 60 degrees C, 300 watts, 14 min, and 22 mL(solv)/g(biom) led to 11.14% w/w yield, 63.36 mg/g(extr) total chlorophylls, 7.06 mg/g(extr) selected carotenoids of astaxanthin, lutein and beta-carotene, 24.88 mg/g(extr) total carotenoids, 9.34 mg(GA)/g(extr) total phenolics, and 40.49 mg(extr)/mg(DPPH) IC50 (antioxidant activity indicator). Moreover, the conventional solid-liquid extraction (SLE) with aq. ethanol 90% v/v, the supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) with CO2, as well as SFE with cosolvent addition (10% w/w ethanol), were also performed for comparison purposes. The results revealed that SLE presented the highest yield. However, the non-conventional methods of MAE and SFE led to extracts of competitive or even better quality under significantly shorter extraction duration.