Diseño preliminar de un proceso de obtención de d-pinitol a partir del extracto de algarroba

Abstract

D-pinitol is a cyclic polyalcohol, which has become increasingly important in recent years, especially in pharmacology, due to its interesting properties regarding the treatment of certain diseases, such as diabetes. This, in conjunction with the fact that its synthesis process has been proved to be too costly, means that it is a high value-added substance. It has been noted that its content in some plant species can be abundant; however, this is a field that has not yet been extensively developed. In this work, it is studied how to obtain it from a vegetal extract obtained from carob, after the removal of other major components such as sugars. The work proposes an extraction and purification process of D-pinitol obtaining, and describes the start-up of the process at laboratory scale, testing for it several experimental stages, such as biofermentation, liquid-liquid extractions, or thermal operations, among others. The optimal sequence of the different stages is also studied, along with other key parameters like inoculation rates, reaction timing, appropriate temperature range or the solvents’ influence, comparing the effects of each parameter on the final product’s characteristics.