Deep eutectic solvents for green extraction and separation of bioactive compounds from traditional Chinese medicines

Traditional Chinese Medicines (TCM) has long relied on bioactive compounds derived from natural sources, but conventional extraction and separation methods often involve violate/hazardous organic solvents, posing environmental and health risks. Deep Eutectic Solvents (DESs) have emerged as a sustainable alternative, offering tunable physicochemical properties, biodegradability, and enhanced extraction efficiency for TCM constituents such as alkaloids, flavonoids, and polysaccharides.

This review comprehensively summarizes the synergistic integration of DESs with TCM, highlighting their applications in green extraction, purification, and stabilization of bioactive compounds. It investigates a series of separation techniques, including liquid/solid-liquid (micro) extraction, chromatographic systems and others, where DESs enhance efficiency and recyclability. Environmental-Health-Safety (EHS) analyses, such as life cycle assessments and related tools, are also discussed.