Sorghum Bran is an abundant source of various high-valve bioactive compounds. Many of these compounds contain significant quantities of lipids, phenolic and other acids. These flavonoids are known to offer a variety of benefits in medicinal chemistry due to their anticancer, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antiviral properties.
A recent study done by researchers in the Department of Food Science at the University of Arkansas utilized an SFT-120 supercritical fluid extractor and a Nex10 SCF Pump for experiments designed to optimize the yields of these high-value lipids and phenolic compounds present in Sorghum Bran(1).
Their process consistent of an extraction SC-CO2 with the addition of an ethanol/water- modifier. Of key importance is the determination and implementation of the best combination of extraction conditions. They found the best temperature is between 40oC and 60oC and the best pressure range is 4350 to 5800 psi. As is typical with many SC-CO2 extractions of natural products, a small amount of co-solvent modifier was added. While neat CO2 resulted in a yield of lipids and phenolic acids approaching 6%, the addition of a small amount of an ethanol/water modifier resulted in a significantly higher yield(2).
Sorghum Grain grows well in warm climates. It is highly drought resistant and is well suited to semi-arid climates. It is a potentially critical plant for supplying these much-needed compounds given predictions that climate change will make it increasingly difficult for many plant species to thrive in the near future. Continued research like the work being done at the University of Arkansas is critical to our ability to ensure adequate supplies of key compounds used in medical applications.
Supercritical Fluid Technologies’ SFT-120 SFE is a moderately priced laboratory SFE, covering the full range of temperatures and pressures that are required by the majority of supercritical extractions performed on natural products. To learn more about this versatile SC-CO2 extractor, please see: https://www.supercriticalfluids.com/products/supercritical-fluid-extraction-products/sft-120/
(1) Solvent Dependency of Sorghum Bran Phytochemicals Acting as Potential Antioxidants and Antibacterial Agents Varee Tyagi,1 Chakkaravarthi Saravanan,1 Yixiang Wang,2 and Bhaswati Bhattacharya Food Technol Biotechnol. 2021 Mar; 59(1): 31–43.
(2) Extraction of High-Value Lipids and Phenolic Compounds from Sorghum Bran via a Sequential Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Approach: Arda Tuhanioglu and Ali Ubeyitogullari* Department of Food Science, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas72704, United States Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas72701, United States ACS Food Sci. Technol. 2022, 2, 12, 1879–1887