Green and efficient extraction of different types of bioactive alkaloids using deep eutectic solvents

Deep eutectic solvents (DESs) have attracted increasing attention as eco-friendly and efficient alternatives to conventional organic solvents. In this study, five herbal medicines (HMs) including Caulis sinomenii, Coptis chinensis, Stephania tetrandra, Tetradium ruticarpum, and Sophora flavescens were selected for the first time to comprehensively evaluate the potential and effectiveness of DESs on the extraction of Morphinane, Protoberberine, Bisbenzylisoquinoline, Indole and Quinolizidine alkaloids, respectively. A total of 75 types of binary or ternary DESs with different polarity, viscosity, pH, and solubilization abilities were tailored to screen a suitable DESs for extraction of morphinane alkaloids from Caulis sinomenii, and the extraction conditions were optimized using response surface methodology (RSM) and artificial neural network hybridized with genetic algorithm (ANN-GA) for the first time. The results demonstrated that DESs were excellent solvents for extraction of alkaloids with superior efficiency to conventional extraction solvents. Moreover, both ANOVA and sensitivity analysis demonstrated that the most critical parameter for alkaloids extraction was water content in DESs. This study reveals the potential of eco-friendly DESs for applications involving the efficient extraction of bioactive alkaloids from natural sources.