RESEARCH PLATFORM 02
EXTRAX®
Phytochemical Process Engineering
Problems worth investigating
Plant material contains a complex mixture of compounds. An extraction route may recover the desired components alongside unwanted material, while heat, oxidation and source variation can influence the resulting chemical profile. A good result from one batch may not explain how a process will behave with another.
EXTRAX® investigates these processing questions. Its aim is to understand how extraction, purification and analytical evaluation could support more clearly defined botanical ingredients and better-informed production decisions for YOHOLIFE®.
RESEARCH POSSIBILITIESEXTRAX®6 research directions · 24 ideas
01Solvent and route screening
Which extraction conditions suit a defined botanical source and target chemical profile?
Aqueous–ethanol systems
How does water–ethanol composition affect the compounds recovered from selected plant material?
Time and temperature
How do extraction time and temperature relate to recovery, composition and stability?
Material loading
How does the material-to-solvent ratio affect recovery and the practical requirements of a route?
Particle-size effects
How does milling and particle-size distribution affect extraction kinetics, composition and subsequent filtration?
02Assisted extraction
What changes when an assisted method is compared with an appropriate extraction baseline?
Ultrasound screening
How do sonication conditions affect recovery and the chemical profile of an extract?
Enzyme pretreatment
What changes in recovery and composition follow pectinase-assisted treatment of grape seed material?
Method comparison
How do candidate methods compare in chemical profile, reproducibility and measured resource requirements?
Pretreatment timing
How do enzyme dose and pretreatment duration affect later extraction, compared with an untreated material baseline?
03Separation and enrichment
Which separation choices provide useful fractions while accounting for recovery and process losses?
Membrane fractionation
How do membrane choices relate to the composition and recovery of different phenolic fractions?
Resin selectivity
Which adsorption and elution approaches merit comparison for enriching a defined target profile?
Material balance
Where do target compounds and other components move or become lost across separation stages?
Fouling and regeneration
How do repeated filtration and cleaning cycles affect membrane permeability, separation behaviour and recovery?
04Characterisation and stability
Which measurements make composition, stability and process comparisons meaningful?
HPLC profiles
Which chromatographic comparisons best describe the compounds or fractions relevant to a development brief?
Method-defined UV assays
What does a selected UV assay measure, and how does it complement chromatographic evidence?
Stability comparisons
How do handling, storage and repeat processing affect the measured chemical profile?
Reference-standard choice
How do reference standards and calibration choices influence reported concentrations and comparisons between assay methods?
05Resource-conscious processing
How can measured solvent, water, energy and residue flows inform process choices alongside extract composition and recovery?
Solvent recovery trials
How do evaporation and condensation affect solvent composition, target-compound recovery and suitability for another extraction cycle?
Water-use inventory
Where is water required for extraction, separation and cleaning, and which reuse options merit testing without compromising composition or hygiene?
Energy per output
How much heating, cooling and drying energy is required per defined extract output when candidate routes are compared on the same basis?
Side-stream characterisation
What remains in spent solids and liquid streams, and which further uses warrant investigation after composition and suitability assessment?
06Reproducibility and scale translation
What evidence would be needed to translate a promising extraction route into a reproducible process at a different operating scale?
Designed process trials
Which factorial or response-surface experiments help separate individual operating effects from interactions between solvent composition, temperature and time?
Feedstock variation
How do moisture content, harvest batch and initial chemical profile affect recovery when the same processing conditions are applied?
Scale-dependent mixing
How do vessel geometry, agitation and residence time affect mass transfer and temperature distribution as processing scale changes?
Process operating windows
Which measured composition, recovery and resource criteria could define useful operating ranges for repeat trials and later process development?
These are possible starting points for exploration. We welcome further ideas, research questions and perspectives from academia and industry.
Share an idea with YOHOLIFE® LAB
Explore the possibilities
Open the platform, choose a research direction, then expand an idea to explore the question behind it. These are possibilities for investigation, shaped by evidence and collaboration.
A research example
Select a stage to examine the approach, the question and the evidence that could guide the next step.
01Define the material and targetExplore this stage
- Research approach
- Characterise selected grape seed material and define the target profile, comparison criteria and analytical approach.
- Question to investigate
- Which grape seed characteristics and target compounds should define the initial process comparison?
- Evidence for the next step
- Source characterisation, a baseline chemical profile and stated analytical criteria would provide a consistent basis for comparing routes.
Next · Screen extraction conditions
02Screen extraction conditionsExplore this stage
- Research approach
- Compare aqueous–ethanol conditions, including time, temperature and material loading, against the defined target profile.
- Question to investigate
- How do solvent composition, time, temperature and material loading affect recovery and the target profile?
- Evidence for the next step
- Comparative composition and recovery measurements under documented extraction conditions would help identify candidates for further route comparisons.
Next · Compare assisted routes
03Compare assisted routesExplore this stage
- Research approach
- Evaluate ultrasound or enzyme-assisted candidates against a baseline, tracking recovery, profile changes and processing requirements.
- Question to investigate
- Does an assisted route offer a useful difference from the baseline without introducing unacceptable profile changes or processing demands?
- Evidence for the next step
- Matched baseline comparisons of recovery, composition and processing requirements would show whether an assisted candidate merits further investigation.
Next · Assess separation choices
04Assess separation choicesExplore this stage
- Research approach
- Compare membrane or resin approaches where appropriate; characterise the resulting fractions and account for material losses.
- Question to investigate
- Which separation approach yields a useful target fraction while accounting for compounds lost elsewhere in the process?
- Evidence for the next step
- Fraction profiles and material balances would clarify enrichment and recovery separately before selecting preparations for analytical evaluation.
Next · Check composition and stability
05Check composition and stabilityExplore this stage
- Research approach
- Use suitable HPLC profiles and complementary assays to assess composition, repeatability and stability under defined conditions.
- Question to investigate
- How consistently can the selected preparation retain its measured composition under defined handling and storage conditions?
- Evidence for the next step
- Method-defined HPLC profiles, complementary assays and repeated stability comparisons would inform which preparations merit further process studies.
Next · Review process feasibility
06Review process feasibilityExplore this stage
- Research approach
- Evaluate recovery, resource requirements and reproducibility to identify further trials and constraints relevant to production development.
- Question to investigate
- What constraints would need to be resolved before considering this route for a production trial?
- Evidence for the next step
- Whole-process comparisons of recovery, repeatability, solvent, water and energy requirements would identify feasibility questions and justified next trials.
Review the evidence · refine the research direction
Conceptual research pathway. Candidate methods are alternatives to compare; not every step is required for every route. Recovery, enrichment and purity are distinct, method-dependent properties.
PolyEX®
PolyEX® is an example research pipeline within EXTRAX®, investigating grape seed polyphenol processing. The proposed route connects source characterisation with extraction comparisons, separation and analytical evaluation. It asks how enrichment, recovery and composition relate, and which evidence is needed before assessing a future production process for YOHOLIFE®.
Conceptual research pathway. Candidate methods are alternatives to compare; not every step is required for every route. Recovery, enrichment and purity are distinct, method-dependent properties.
Potential value for industry and society
Understanding a process means understanding what it recovers, what it changes and what it leaves behind. EXTRAX® explores how such knowledge can support more considered use of botanical material and clearer ingredient development.
Material-use opportunities. Recovery and selectivity comparisons can identify where plant inputs are lost or where further processing research is worthwhile.
Meaningful specifications. Suitable analytical methods and stated reference standards help researchers and formulators interpret composition.
Evidence for responsible choices. Resource and material-balance studies provide a basis for comparing complete processes, including solvent, water and energy requirements.
Technology development for YOHOLIFE®. Documented findings can guide production trials, scale-up questions and application evaluation.
From exploration to a future process
A future programme would define the source material, target profile and analytical method before comparing possible routes. Composition, recovery and stability results would guide technical refinement. Evidence of limitations would be as useful as evidence supporting a proposed approach.
Translation towards production would require reproducibility assessment, practical process trials and evaluation of scale-up constraints. EXTRAX® is intended to support YOHOLIFE® with the knowledge needed to make those decisions and explore whether an experimental route has a useful industrial role.
Explore together
We welcome ideas from extraction scientists, separation specialists, analytical researchers and industrial partners. Bring a processing question, proposed comparison or measurement challenge, with the botanical source, target profile and available evidence.
Research involving source variation can also connect with GENORA®.