NTU Singapore researchers convert kale waste for health and personal care products

In Singapore, scientists from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) have developed a new technique to convert kale waste for use in health and personal care products, reducing food waste and emissions. Phytochemicals found in plants are known to prevent damage to cells in the body and are widely used in consumer products. They include health-promoting supplements, like antioxidants and lutein, as well as face scrubs and hair shampoo with kale extracts.

Current processes for extracting phytochemicals from kale are energy-intensive, requiring high pressure and temperatures, which contribute additional CO2 emissions to the environment. Moreover, the industrial extraction processes only target a single type of phytochemical each time. Seeking a more sustainable and efficient method to turn vegetable waste into ‘treasure’, the NTU researchers looked to naturally derived natural deep eutectic solvents (NADES) – non-toxic liquids made up of plant-based compounds such as amino acid, sugar, and vegetable oil by-product – for answers.

While NADES have long been studied in separation technology for food and pharmaceutical industries, not much is known about their ability to extract different classes of bioactive compounds from vegetable waste.