Ultrasound-assisted green solvent extraction of high-added value compounds from microalgae Nannochloropsis spp.

Abstract The aim of this work was to investigate ultrasound (US)-assisted green solvent extraction of valuable compounds from the microalgae Nannochloropsis spp. Individual green solvents (water, ethanol (EtOH), dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO)) and binary mixture of solvents (water-DMSO and water-EtOH) were used for the extraction procedures. Maximum total phenolic compounds yield ( Y p  ≈ 0.33) was obtained after US pre-treatment ( W  = 400 W, 15 min), being almost 5-folds higher compared to that found for the untreated samples and aqueous extraction ( Y p  ≈ 0.06). The highest yield of total chlorophylls ( Y c  ≈ 0.043) was obtained after US ( W  = 400 W, 7.5 min), being more than 9-folds highe…