Sustainable Intensification of Functional Compounds Recovery from Cocoa Bean Shells Using Flash Extraction

Cocoa bean shells (CBS) represent a significant by-product of the transformation of cocoa beans, constituting approximately 15% of the total cocoa bean weight. Recently, interest in exploring the potential of these shells as a sustainable source of functional ingredients for use in cosmetics and nutraceuticals has grown. The present study investigates Microwave-Assisted Subcritical Water Extraction (MASWE) as a green and fast technique to recover bioactive compounds from CBS. A flash extraction (five minutes) at 170°C yielded a maximum of 45.79 mg of gallic acid equiva-lents (GAE) per gram of CBS, which was higher than that obtained using conventional conditions (25.73 mgGAE/gCBS with 50% acetone solution). Additionally, the HPLC pro-file of the extract from MASWE revealed a significant increase in hydroxybenzoic acids and catechin, compared to the conventional extract. Following the optimization of the extraction process, seven distinct resins were examined to isolate a bioactive-enriched fraction: Sepabeads SP700 was found to be the most effec-tive resin for concentrating such compounds, increasing both methylxanthines and TPC selectivity up to 4.2-fold. This valorization approach integrating MASWE and downstream optimization offers an innovative strategy to recover added-value products in line with green extraction and nutraceutical innovation.