Subcritical water extraction of bioactive compounds from plant materials: recent advances

• Green Technology in Bioactive Compound Extraction: Exploration of subcritical water extraction (SWE) as an environmentally friendly alternative to conventional methods, emphasizing reduced reliance on organic solvents and its potential for sustainable industrial applications. • Broad-Spectrum Efficacy of SWE: Discussion on the versatility of SWE in extracting a wide range of bioactive compounds, including polyphenols, alkaloids, and terpenoids, from plant materials, highlighting its efficiency across diverse chemical classes. • Recent Advances in SWE Techniques: Overview of the latest technological developments in SWE, including refinements in extraction protocols and potential scale-up strategies for industrial applications. • SWE's Environmental and Economic Benefits: Analysis of the environmental sustainability and economic advantages of SWE, with a focus on its ability to minimize ecological impact while maximizing the therapeutic potential of botanical resources. • Integration of SWE with Complementary Methods: Evaluation of potential synergies by combining SWE with other extraction techniques or modifications, providing insights into enhancing extraction efficiency and compound purity. Bioactive compounds play a crucial role in various industries. Natural plants are abundant sources of these compounds, spanning diverse chemical classes such as polyphenols, alkaloids, and terpenoids, each offering unique therapeutic properties. Efficient extraction of these compounds from natural plant sources is essential, yet challenging due to the variability in compound distribution, matrix complexity, and the need for environmentally sustainable practices. Subcritical water extraction (SWE) has emerged as a promising green technology for extracting bioactive compounds from natural sources, utilizing water as a solvent to obviate environmental and health risks associated with organic solvents. SWE enables simultaneous extraction of both polar and non-polar compounds, offering versatility for diverse phytochemical profiles. Recent studies have shown that SWE can effectively extract a wide range of bioactive compounds and improved compound purity compared to other traditional mothed. Its principles and mechanisms highlight advantages over conventional methods, notably reduced organic solvent dependence, shorter extraction durations, and heightened selectivity. However, despite its many advantages, challenges remain. These include optimizing extraction parameters for different plant matrices, ensuring scalability for industrial applications, and addressing the thermal sensitivity of certain bioactive compounds under high temperatures. Furthermore, equipment costs and process optimization for large-scale extractions still pose limitations. Nonetheless, SWE’s ability to minimize environmental impact while enhancing extraction efficiency makes it a compelling alternative to conventional techniques. This manuscript will focus on the recent advancements in SWE for plant extraction which underscores the importance of ongoing research to refine extraction protocols, scale-up processes, and explore potential synergies by integrating SWE with complementary methods or modifications. Ultimately, this review discusses the efficacy of SWE as a sustainable and efficient approach for extracting bioactive compounds from plants, offering invaluable guidance to researchers and industries engaged in natural product extraction, thereby facilitating enhanced utilization of botanical resources.