Cyclodextrin Complexation for Alcohol-Free Plant Extract Filtration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for producing alcohol-free or low-alcohol plant extracts often result in significant loss of active ingredients and are inefficient, as they rely on alcohol-based solvents, and existing dealcoholization techniques using dispersants and wetting agents are not effective enough.
Innovation Solution
The method involves using cyclodextrins to increase the molecular size of plant extract components, allowing for their retention during membrane filtration, specifically through reverse osmosis, to produce an alcohol-reduced or alcohol-free composition with less than 10% alcohol content by volume.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-generated harmful factors
If membrane filtration (reverse osmosis) is used to remove alcohol from plant extracts, then alcohol content is reduced, but active ingredients are also lost in the permeate
Solution Approach 1:
Cyclodextrins serve as intermediary substances that form inclusion complexes with active ingredients (such as terpenes, phenols, and other low-molecular-weight compounds). This complexation increases the apparent molecular size of these compounds, causing them to be retained by the membrane during reverse osmosis while allowing alcohol and water to pass through. The cyclodextrins act as a mediating layer between the active ingredients and the membrane filtration process.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the effective molecular size parameter of active ingredients through complexation with cyclodextrins. By forming host-guest inclusion complexes, the hydrodynamic radius of active ingredients increases from typically <1 nm to >1 nm, which is sufficient for retention by reverse osmosis membranes with appropriate pore sizes. This parameter change allows selective retention of active ingredients while permitting alcohol removal.
2Object-generated harmful factors
If dispersants and wetting agents are used for dealcoholization, then some alcohol removal is achieved, but the process is not effective enough and active ingredients are still lost
Solution Approach 1:
Cyclodextrins serve as intermediary substances that form inclusion complexes with active ingredients (such as terpenes, phenols, and other low-molecular-weight compounds). This complexation increases the apparent molecular size of these compounds, causing them to be retained by the membrane during reverse osmosis while allowing alcohol and water to pass through. The cyclodextrins act as a mediating layer between the active ingredients and the membrane filtration process.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the effective molecular size parameter of active ingredients through complexation with cyclodextrins. By forming host-guest inclusion complexes, the hydrodynamic radius of active ingredients increases from typically <1 nm to >1 nm, which is sufficient for retention by reverse osmosis membranes with appropriate pore sizes. This parameter change allows selective retention of active ingredients while permitting alcohol removal.
3Ease of manufacture
If conventional extraction methods are used, then alcohol-containing extracts are obtained, but there is high demand for alcohol-free products
Solution Approach 1:
Cyclodextrins serve as intermediary substances that form inclusion complexes with active ingredients (such as terpenes, phenols, and other low-molecular-weight compounds). This complexation increases the apparent molecular size of these compounds, causing them to be retained by the membrane during reverse osmosis while allowing alcohol and water to pass through. The cyclodextrins act as a mediating layer between the active ingredients and the membrane filtration process.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the effective molecular size parameter of active ingredients through complexation with cyclodextrins. By forming host-guest inclusion complexes, the hydrodynamic radius of active ingredients increases from typically <1 nm to >1 nm, which is sufficient for retention by reverse osmosis membranes with appropriate pore sizes. This parameter change allows selective retention of active ingredients while permitting alcohol removal.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach effectively reduces the alcohol content to less than 1.5% by volume while preserving the majority of the plant extract's active ingredients, allowing for the production of high-quality, alcohol-free medicinal products with minimal loss of pharmacologically relevant compounds.
Implementation Method 1
the suitability of cyclodextrins for the production of inclusion compounds allows for an increase in molecular size, thus advantageously achieving retention at the membrane during membrane filtration
Implementation Method 2
Membrane filtration is a pressure-driven filtration process for the selective separation of molecules with a molecular weight of at least 100 Daltons up to a size of 5 μm
Implementation Method 3
A special form of membrane filtration is reverse osmosis. Reverse osmosis is a high-pressure process used to separate water or alcohol from process liquids
Implementation Method 4
Membrane filtration is a pressure-driven filtration process for the selective separation of molecules
Data Source
Figure 1~2
AI summary
The invention relates to a process for preparing a composition, low in alcohol or alcohol-free, of at least one alcohol-containing plant extract by means of membrane filtration using cyclodextrin.