Supercritical fluid extraction of ginger herbal dust bioactives with estimation of pharmacological potential using in silico and in vitro analysis

Extensive filter tea production in the last decade has increased the amount of generated waste. Due to the particle size (less than 0.315 mm), this material, also known as herbal dust, cannot be packed into the filter tea bags. According to previous studies, valuable bioactive compounds have been recovered from herbal dusts. Therefore, this study is focused on the valorization of ginger (Zingiber officinale) herbal dust, which is commonly used for the treatment of digestive disorders, colds, and various health issues. To obtain highly valuable extracts rich in non-polar and low-polar bioactive compounds novel Supercritical carbon dioxide (SFE-CO2) extraction was applied. As a reference technique, Soxhlet extraction (methylene chloride) was employed. The chemical profiles of all extracts were determined by GC-MS. The most dominant compounds, according to the results, were hydrocarbon sesquiterpene zingiberene (7.51%-14.28%), sesquiterpenes β-sesquiphellandrene (3.70%-7.34%), β-bisabolene (3.54%-6.93%), ar-curcumene (3.02%-6.19%) and non-volatile phenolic compounds 6-gingerol (25.33%-31.11%), 6- shogaol (12.21%-14.91%). Based on the chemical profile of the extracts, the in silico study was carried out where the effects of ginger compounds with a focus on diabetes were specified. Besides, the most potential SFE-CO2 extract was selected for the investigation of effects on short- and long-term cell viability on liver cancer cells.