Compressed Gas Fractionation of High Value Lipids From Plants

Plants contain a range of interesting lipophyllic compounds with potential dietary or topical health benefits. These include antioxidants, phospholipids important to cell function, and polyunsaturated lipids. This paper describes a compressed gas extraction process using dimethyl ether to extract polar lipids and long-chain PUFA from plant materials including New Zealand ferns, and marine algae. A fractionation process using supercritical fluid CO₂ can be further used to isolate individual compounds.